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Tales of the Rotrad Table 

■ ’ 

adapted for the Yotong People 

F*RO M 

THE MORTE D’ ARTHUR 

. 


SIR THOMAS MALORY 


By 


/ 


Ml LLI0E/NT PEIKeE POTTEp. 


OPYKlfiHTRI), 1 


Order of Storie-s. 


THE ROUND TABLE. 
ARTHUR. 

MERLIN. 

GARETH. 


TRISTRAM./ 

DINADAN. 

LAUNCELOT. 

THE HOLY GRAAL. 


Press of 1 Nohth Adams N kv 
1 809 . 


TWO COPIES RECEIVED, 


Library of Congro«% 
Qfflea of ttlQ 

m 3 - 1900 

Ragiatar of Copyrig&f* 



51401 




•CCOND COP f. 


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96 ^%* 


TO 


HELEN OHAMHEKI^IN BUTLER 
These Stories ark Inscribed. 













\ 





PREFACE. 


To the student world Sir Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte D’ Arthur” has a 
never ending charm. Doubtless that is one reason why his subject has been so 
often rewritten by poets and eminent story-tellers. 

This little book ventures to repeat the simple outlines of his work so that 
our younger boys and girls can enjoy it for themselves. 

M1LL1CENT PEIRCE POTTER, 

12 East Quincy Street, 


North Adams, Mass. 




















' 























































THE ROUND TABLE. 


If you would know what the Table itself really looked like 
think of an oval table, long and broad enough to seat an hun- 
dred and fifty knights. It was made of heavy, unpolished oaken 
boards laid across ever so many high saw-horses. If you would 
know what the Round Table really was, do not think of this 
clumsy, oaken oval, but rather of the great King and the one 
hundred and fifty true knights who sat about it. 

This name was given them long, long ago by Arthur’s 
father, King Uther-Pendragon. He kept the table in his castle 
at Camelot, and always had one hundred and fifty knights liv- 
ing there, who once every day sat down at it to eat, like so 
many brothers. 

When he died he gave it, with all the knights, to his friend, 
Leodogrance, King of Camelaird. But Leodogrance was so 
very unfortunate in war he could never keep the number com- 
plete, and so when his daughter Guinevere was married to 
Arthur, he sent it back with one hundred knights as a wedding 
present to his young son-in-law. 

Arthur was overjoyed with this splendid gift; in fact, he 
loved it better than beautiful Guinevere, and he sent a rider 
far back to Camelaird to say to the King : “This pleaseth me 
more than power or great riches.” 

Now Arthur was a wise young king and it was his ambition, 
not only to complete the number at once to one hundred and 
fifty, but to have each one as brave and true as ever knight 
could be. So he asked the great magician, Merlin, to go out 
through his kingdom and bring back fifty loyal knights. Mer- 


o 


THE ROUND TABLE. 


lin hastened away, but either he was too critical or else true 
knights were scarce, for back he came, weary and worn, with 
only twenty-eight men worthy to join the Table Round. 

On the King’s wedding day a great feast was held at the 
palace for all who would come. The whole country raced and 
ran and crowded in, not so much to see the beautiful young 
Queen as to get a glimpse of the knights when they took their 
places at the famous Table for the first time and swore to be 
faithful to their new King. 

Twenty-eight newly carven seats (which they called “seiges”) 
were brought into the hall. These, the Archbishop of Canter- 
bury blessed with great pomp and ceremony. Then he called 
each of the twenty-eight new knights, man by man, and gave 
every one a special siege. 

At the further end of the table, near the entrance of the 
hall, sat the Queen’s Guards, lively young knights, all wearing 
plain white armor and carrying silver shields with no emblem 
upon them, because as yet they have never been tried in real 
battle. 

Next to these, on either side, were the new comers in 
brightly polished armor, with waving white plumes on their 
helmets. 

Still beyond, sat the older and less famous knights, who 
wore sober black armor, all dented and scratched. 

Now came Launcelot’s kinsmen, thirty grim warriors in all, 
each one dressed in gray armor, with long red plumes droop- 
ing from his helmet. 

Five stalwart men in golden armor sat just beyond, and 
these five were no less than the King’s nephews, Sir Gawaine 
and his brothers. 

At the head of The Table Round sat the good King, proud- 
ly overlooking this noble fellowship; Launcelot the Great, at 
his right; and at his left, a lofty seat called, “The Siege Peri- 
lous/’ which was empty and would be thus, until the time when 
the best knight in all the world should come and take it for 
his own. 

Usually the knights came to the table unarmed and wearing 
long robes, but, as this day was a special feast, they came fully 


THE ROUND TABLE. 


I 


armed, shield and all. There is the greatest noise you ever 
heard. The young knights in their clanking armor hastened 
to serve the older ones, and shouted their orders to the squires 
and little pages hurrying back and forth. Sir Kay, the steward, 
walked pompously up and down, seeing that every knight had 
his share of the boar and all the red wine he could drink. 

Only too soon the Angelus rang, when the whole Round 
Table, pages, squires and all, stood up to pledge the King in 
one last cup of wine, and then follow him to the cathedral to 
even-song. 

At twilight they were back once more in the castle hall, sit- 
ting about in groups on the rush-covered floor, listening to the 
harpers and troubadours or watching the magicians. By and 
by the blazing fire died down and the torches began to go out 
and King Arthur bade the heralds blow, “Every man to his 
chamber to rest for the night. ” The bugles sounded and at 
once there was the greatest scattering in every direction. The 
squires hurried to the stables; the pages scampered to the 
kitchen; the ladies fluttered away to their turret chambers; the 
White Knights all marched off to escort the Queen to her room. 
Then the castle gates were closed and bolted; the draw-bridge 
was pulled up; the last little page ran through the dark hall, 
and, while sentinels paced back and forth upon the wall and 
the quiet waters of the moat reflected the stars, — The Round 
Table slept. 


If we should read the history of this famous brotherhood, 
we would find many long wars which they fought for Arthur’s 
sake, and many a lively tournament beside the castle walls. 
We would watch them proudly start on the Quest of the Sanc- 
greal; and we would grieve to see them silently and slowly 
return from that dangerous search, broken in spirit and few, 
very few in number. 

We would wish to stop reading then, for the end of this 
noble fellowship is sad indeed. Jealousies and quarrels arose 


THE ROUND TABLE. 


I 2 

among these brothers; treachery crept in, and finally civil war 
divided and destroyed them. 

Launcelot was banished, the noble King killed, and only 
seven maimed and broken hearted knights were left to dream 
away their lives in cloistered walls. 

Since then, no other king has ever held a Round Table — 
perhaps because no other has loved noble men more than power 
or great rithes. 











_ % 






I 






















KING ARTHUR- 


The head of the Round Table and its most famous knight 
was Arthur, King of all England. This young king lived in 
the mysterious olden times when giants, dwarfs and fairies 
were a part of England’s population, and these, fortunately, 
took a very active share in his affairs. 

His father, Uther-Pendragon, won Arthur’s mother, Queen 
Igraine, by Merlin’s magic, so that when Arthur was born (so 
far back beyond history we cannot even think of the date) old 
Merlin claimed the lad as a reward of his magical work. 
The poor, little, crying baby was wrapped in cloth of gold and, 
without even waiting to be christened, was carried off by two 
knights and two ladies to a postern gate of the castle and given 
to a man there who appeared to be a ragged beggar. This was 
Merlin, the greatest magician in the realm. He had an old 
friar christen the child “Arthur,” and then gave him to the 
greatest knight in Great Britain, called Sir Ector. The latter 
did not know that Arthur was a king’s son, but thought him a 
poor little orphan who needed a home. So he brought him up 
with his own son, Sir Kay. 

Not many years after, King Uther-Pendragon died and the 
great question arose as to who should be king, for no one except 
Merlin knew that Arthur should rightfully rule. 

Therefore all the barons of England came together at Can- 
terbury to chose one to rule over them. Their first duty was 
to go to the Cathedral for service and when they came out 
they saw a wonderful thing in the church-yard. Opposite the 
high altar arose a great stone, four feet square, on top of which 
was a steel anvil and out of that came a great sword with these 


i6 


KING ARTHUR. 


letters of gold on the blade: “Whoso pulleth the sword out of 
this stone and anvil is the right-wise born King of all England.” 
As this was the matter they had come to determine, they be- 
gan at once. First, each man who wished to become king tried 
it; next all the knights tried it, but it would not stir; then all 
the common people tried a hand at it, but no one could move it. 

So the matter of choosing a king had to rest till some 
months later. 

On New Year’s day, Sir Ector and his two boys rode to Lon- 
don to a great tournament. Kay forgot his sword and Arthur 
rode back to get it for him; but he found the castle all shut up 
and empty and then, as the old story says, “Arthur was wrathy 
and said to himself, ‘I will ride to the church-yard and take 
the sword with me that sticketh in the stone, for my brother, 
Sir Kay, shall not be without a sword this day.’ ” So he did. 

Every one was so astonished, he had to pull it out and put 
it back seven different times before the people would believe 
their eyes. Even then they would not obey the writing on the 
sword, for they said, “We do not know whence he is come and 
we will have no boy ruling over us.” 

Merlin placed a strong guard of trusty knights over him 
and won for him two firm allies, King Ban of Benwick and 
King Bors of Gaul. They lent him soldiers and slowly, by con- 
tinual fighting, he overcame the rebellious people and was 
finally crowned King of all England. Later he conquered 
Scotland and Wales. Thus half the years of his long reign 
were filled with fighting to keep and enlarge this kingdom. 
Hence it was no wonder that his knights often said, “It is merry 
to be under such a chieftain, that will go into danger just like 
any common knight.” 

When he had been king several years he married Guinevere 
and, as a wedding gift from his father-in-law, he received the 
Round Table. This made him the strongest king in the 
world. From now on he kept a royal household about 
him with hundreds of brave knights and lovely ladies, ever 
coming and going. They had plenty to take their time and 
attention, for Arthur always had something going on worth 
seeing or hearing. He called together all the famous knights 
of England and of all foreign countries to fight in a mock war 


KING ARTHUR. 


17 * 


at his court, and the one who overthrew the most men would 
win the beautiful prize which he always offered. (Such mock 
wars were what we call “tournaments/’ and what* he called 
“joustings.”) 

He held many famous joustings every season and he also 
called to his court, from far and near, all the great minstrels 
and troubadours, as well as the magicians, great and small. 

. He was the very best knight of them all; not the strongest, 
but the best, and he often fought at the tournaments just as 
bravely as they. It is not certain what he really looked 
like It is a great pity that Sir Thomas Malory left that out of 
his good old book. It is likely, however, that Arthur was not 
so very tall or so very thin — just a medium sized man as to 
height and figure — that he stood erect and walked very firmly; 
that he had thick yellow hair, a high forehead and blue eyes 
that could look right through you, they were so keen, or sparkle 
with fun at a merry joke, or fill with tears at another’s sorrow, 
or shine brightly with faith in spite of trouble and doubt. 
However he looked, or whatever sort of clumsy crown he wore, 
his praise was always hoped for and his censure always dreaded. 
At a jousting once, a young knight rode suddenly and unfairly 
at him, but Arthur, “with great eager heart got his spear in his 
hand,” overcame him, and then when the young knight cried 
for mercy, gently forgave him. Whereupon Sir Tristram could 
not help saying: “Ah! ye know not my lord Arthur, for all 
knights may learn to be a knight of him.” 

The first great event in his reign was a war with Rome. 
The Pope sent embassadors to Arthur, demanding that he 
should surrender all England to him. Arthur naturally re- 
fused. The embassadors were sent again to threaten war and 
the ancient story says: “They feared before his countenance 
and noble mien and said of him to the Pope, “He is a most man- 
ly man and is like to conquer all the world, for with his courage 
the world is too little.” Instead of sending English embassa- 
dors back to the Pope, Arthur gathered an army and, with the 
Round Table, set out to take Rome. First they conquered all 
the great cities of France, (fortunately they were very few 
then,) and later they did likewise in Italy. So Rome only was 
left, and this they took at one storming. Then the Pope, much 


8 


KING ARTHUR. 


to his chagrin, was obliged to give all Rome to Arthur instead 
of receiving all England from him, as the Holy Father had 
demanded. 

Now Arthur was crowned emperor of the world and he 
ruled wisely and well. Unlike other kings, he forbade his 
army pillaging and sent out bands of knights to kill all robbers 
and giants who were harming his newly conquered people. 

When all such disturbing matters were settled, he returned 
to England where all his people came from the towns and 
cities to meet him at the sea-shore with great joy and ever 
so many gifts. 

Very early in his reign Arthur obtained Excalibur, that 
famous sword of which you have so often heard. This w T as not 
the sword which he pulled from the anvil in the stone when he 
was made king. That one, unfortunately, broke to pieces one 
day when he was battling with five kings all at once. He 
grieved over the misfortune, as he was very, very fond of it; and 
no wonder, for it had delighted his heart many a time when its 
very brightness had frightened his enemies. Now he com- 
plained to his old friend Merlin and said mournfully, “Alas! 
king as I am, I have no worthy .sword.” But Merlin comforted 
him by saying that if he would not grieve he should have an- 
other and a better. 

One day when they were riding outside of London they 
chanced to. come by a lake. In the midst of this they saw a 
mighty arm, covered with white and gold, waiving about a 
great sword, and a maiden walking toward them on the water 
“Who is that?” asked Arthur. Merlin answered, “That is the 
Lady of the Lake and within that lake is a rock, inside of which 
is a beautiful palace. The maid will meet us soon. Be sure 
to speak gently to her, so that she will give you that sword. ” 
By and by she reached them. “O maiden,” said Arthur, 
“what sword is that, that yonder arm holdeth above the water? 
I wish it were mine, for I have no sword now.” (And the very 
thought of his lost sword made him heave a deep sigh.) “Sir 
Arthur, King,” she said, “that sword is mine and if ye will give 
me a gift when I ask for it, ye shall have the sword.” This he 
gladly promised and quickly got off his horse and went aboard 
a boat which happened to be there on the shore. And when 


KING ARTHUR. 


9 


they came to the hand which held the sword up, it vanished be 
neaih the water, just after Arthur had grasped the sword firmly 
by the handles. Then he placed it carefully in the boat and 
rowed ashore. 

As they rode homeward Arthur kept taking out the sword 
and looking at it, saying that he liked it passing well. 
‘‘Whether liketh you better,” asked Merlin, “the sword or the 
scabbard?” “Me liketh better the sword.” “Ye are the more 
unwise,” rejoined the old magician, “for the scabbard is worth 
ten of the sword; for while ye have it upon ye, ye shall lose no 
blood be ye never so wounded. Therefore, keep ye the scab- 
bard and the sword always with you.” 

If Arthur had obeyed this wise old man he would have been 
saved much trouble; but he grew careless about it and for safe 
keeping let his sister, Morgan Le Fay, have it in her strong 
tower. 

Now this Morgan Le Fay was a wicked creature, a sorcer- 
ess, and she wished to be queen and to reign in Arthur’s stead. 
She hoped to do this by making the knight she loved best a 
king. So she gave him “Excalibur” and, that Arthur might 
not know it, she had made another sword and scabbard exactly 
like the real one. Then she sent out her knight to carve his 
kingdom with the real Excalibur and at the next jousting he 
cut great swaths in the ranks with it until he came to Arthur- 
Him he almost killed on the spot. Arthur was astonished to 
see his false sword snap all to pieces, and when he felt himself 
hurt to the death, he knew that he had the wrong sword. Just 
then The Lady of The Lake hurried in. She staunched Ar- 
thur’s bleeding wounds and explained all this treachery to him. 

Morgan Le Fay’s evil knight was killed then and there by 
the knights who were angry at such treachery to their beloved 
King. 

That night Arthur and his men rested in an abby. Morgan 
Le Fay, who was very angry that her plans had turned out so 
miserably, crept up to Arthur while he slept and stole away 
“Excalibur.” However, as she rode away Arthur heard her 
horse going over the drawbridge, and when he roused himself 
he found that Excalibur was gone. He and his knights gave 
chase, but she galloped swiftly ahead until she came to a lake 


20 


KING ARTHUR. 


and there she threw in the sword. The scabbard was heavy with 
gold and diamonds and Excalibur sank out of sight as Arthur 
readied the shore. Then he turned to throw Morgan Le Fay in, 
but she had turned herself into a great rock and of course he 
could not find her, although he sat down on that very stone to 
weep over his loss and disappointment. However, the Lady of 
the Lake gave him another sword, which, though not as pow- 
erful as Excalibur, helped him through many a long day’s 
battle. 

But we must not let Excalibur make us forget the rest of 
Arthur’s life. When he came back from Rome he paid atten- 
tion to serious business only, and for a long time did nothing 
but settle disputes and make new laws, for many a quarrel had 
arisen during his absence and many a wrong. Then he held 
Parliament to see what things Old England needed and desired. 
Next he visited the cathedrals and gave them great gifts. 

After that he found time for a little rest and pleasure and 
had his heralds announce three great joustings, one at Avillion, 
another at Lonazep, and one at Camelot. (For the story of the 
one at Lonazep we must wait till we read about Sir Tristram.) 
The fame of these went far and wide, and it was a long time 
before the world ceased to gossip over the wonderful costumes, 
fine armor and mighty deeds of Arthur’s knights. 

Shortly after this, the Round Table took up the Quest of 
the Holy Graal and Arthur was bereft of all his loved knights. 
His sorrow was so great that he could neither eat nor sleep for 
a long time, as he loved his trusty knights and their warlike 
deeds better even than Queen Guinevere. 

While they were gone he spent his time building churches 
and making laws but could find no pleasure in anything. 

As they returned, one by one, his spirits revived and he 
planned some great tournaments, but as the Round Table had 
changed so greatly during the Quest, he held a few only and 
those were not brilliant. He saw that his men did not fight with 
their old knightly spirit and that their jealousies had now be- 
come so bitter they fought in real earnest rather than for 
knightly honor. 

This was a great sorrow to him. 

Also his troubles were added to by the gossip of Mordred. 


KING ARTHUR. 


21 


He plainly told Arthur that Guinevere loved another knight. 
This, Mordred said, was Launcelot, who had been Arthur’s best 
friend and true knight. For years Arthur denied this report, 
for he was too noble to be jealous. At last the truth was forced 
upon him and he fainted from sheer despair, for he loved his 
queen then as much as he had ever loved her. 

Launcelot’s kinsmen had all gathered about him and with- 
drawn to his castle, “Joyous Garde, waiting for King Arthur 
to make war upon them and so settle that gossip of Mordred. 
Arthur came and fought for several years, but as he was unable 
to conquer Launcelot he rested from the war a while. Mean- 
time the latter went back to his own country, for he was a 
prince in the Land of Benwick and could be king over many 
people, if he would only stay at home. Arthur soon followed 
with a. mighty host and once more fought a long, unsuccessful 
war. Perhaps he would have won this if he could have stayed 
long enough, but he had to go home again, for wicked Mordred 
was making more trouble and had stirred all England into re- 
bellion against the good king. (And this Mordred was his own 
nephew! Can you possibly imagine why any one should be so 
false to so true an uncle?) 

So our unfortunate Arthur had to go back to England. He 
gathered the little army, which was left after fighting with 
Launcelot, and crossed the sea. In those days men had only 
little clumsy sail boats which bobbed up and down and rocked 
terribly, so that it was all a soldier could do to hold on; fighting 
was hopeless. Mordred knew this and when Arthur’s men 
were nearing the land he sent the rebels out to fight them in 
the water. In this way boats were upset, armor lost and men 
drowned during the dreadful confusion of this shameful attack. 

However, Arthur and three knights got ashore, and a hun- 
dred or more of the army. But the battle was lost and all they 
could do was to escape to the forest, while Arthur made a truce 
with Mordred. Now a dream had come to the king, showing 
him certain death if he fought the next day. For this reason 
he made the truce especially strong and went back to his men 
feeling quite safe. 

Mordred, who never could be trusted, told his men not to 
fight unless they saw a sword flash and then, if they did surely 


22 


KING ARTHUR. 


see a flash, to look out for treason and fight on the right side as 
on the left and kill all before them. 

The day passed peacefully till noon, when they were all sit- 
ting down to dinner. Just then an adder crawled out of its 
hole and stung a knight of Arthur’s. This unlucky man gave 
his sword a great swing to cut off its head. Now when the 
armies saw the sword flash they thought it treason and fell to 
fighting on the left side and on the right. 

At sundown Mordred and all his men were killed and 
Arthur wounded and bleeding was left with only two knights. 
They led him to a little chapel by the sea side. Then they 
heard robbers plundering the wounded knights on the field and, 
for safety, they tried to carry Arthur to a town near by. But one 
of the knights, Sir Lucan, was so wounded that he died while 
trying to lift the king, and Arthur himself fainted, moaning, 
“Alas! he would have holpen me and he was more in need of 
help than I. Alas that he did not complain, for his heart was 
so set to help me — but my time also hieth fast.” 

Then he sent the other knight, Sir Bedivere, to the shore, 
saying, “Take thou Excalibur, my good sword, and go with it 
to yonder water side, and when thou comest there I charge 
thee, throw in the sword in that water and come again and tell 
me what thou seest.” 

“My lord, it shall be done,” answered Bedivere, but he 
falsely hid Excalibur under a tree. When he came back he 
told Arthur he had thrown it in. Arthur asked, “What didst 
thou see?” 

“Sire, I saw nothing but the waves and the winds.” 

“That is untruly said of thee,” said the King, “therefore go 
thou lightly and do my command as thou art dear to me; spare 
not, but throw it in.” 

Then Bedivere went and took up the sword to throw it in, 
but to do such a thing seemed a sin and a shame and he hid it 
again. Then he went back to Arthur. 

“What sawest thou there?” asked the King wearily. 

“Sire, I saw nothing but the waves wap and wan.” 

“Ah, traitor, untrue!” cried Arthur, “now has thou betrayed 
me twice. Now do as I bid thee, or I shall slay thee with it in 
my own hands.” 


KING ARTHUR. 


2 3 


Then Sir Bedivere took it from its hiding place, bound the 
golden belt around the hilt and threw it into the water as far as 
he could. 

‘‘There came an arm and' a hand out of the water which 
met it and caught it and so shook it thrice and brandished it 
and then vanished. ” Then he told Arthur what he had seen 
and carried Arthur to the water’s edge. There came a little 
boat close by, with many fair ladies in it, and they all wore 
black hoods and they wept and shrieked when they saw Arthur. 

“Now put me in the barge/’ said Arthur. Bedivere did so 
softly. And there received him three queens with great 
mourning, and Arthur laid his head in one of their laps and she 
said, “Alas, dear brother, why have ye tarried so long?” So the 
boat sped away. 

When Sir Bedivere saw them take his king away, he cried 
out in despair, “Alas, my lord king, what will become of me?” 
“Comfort thyself,” Arthur faintly said in answer, “do as well as 
thou mayest, for in me is no trust for to trust in. For I will go 
to the vale of Avillion to heal me of my grievous wounds, and 
if thou never hear more of me, pray thou for my soul.” And 
ever the queens wept and shrieked that it was a pity to hear. 

Sir Bedivere watched the barge until it went out beyond 
his sight and, weeping and wailing, he took to the forest. 

The next morning he came to a little chapel and there he 
saw a hermit kneeling before a newly made grave. “Who is 
buried there for whom thou weepest?” asked Bedivere fearfully. 

Fair son, I know not, but by deeming. At midnight there 
came an hundred ladies with a dead knight and they begged 
me to bury him. Me seemeth it was King Arthur.” 


































MERLIN. 


The great trouble with Merlin was his way of doing a won- 
derful thing and then looking at people as much as to say, “Oh, 
it is easy enough, if you only know how!” This caused him to 
become very unpopular, for no one else ever did know how to do 
the miraculous things he found so easy. 

The few people to whom he was good said that he was a 
wise, a very wise man; but other people, whom he had not 
pleased, said he was a wizard and a very evil one, too. 

However, notwithstanding all that every one said, he was 
the most important man in England for many, many years. 
Arthur would never have been king without him, and there 
never would have been a Round Table, and perhaps the Holy 
Graal would never have been achieved. 

You see, Merlin was not like other men. He never was 
young; that is, people could never remember to have seen him 
when he was young, and so they told each other that he never 
was anything but a white-bearded old man. 

Merlin was also handicapped because his parents did not 
belong to respectable society; they were polite, no doubt, but 
not respectable, because his father was a demon. Of course 
this did not prevent his entering high society or wearing fine 
clothes, but the odor of brimstone ever seemed to be about all 
he did or said, and naturally it made respectable people dis- 
trust him. 

He left home very early in life and went to far Northumber- 
land, where he became a servant to a great historian named 
Bleise. Then he became a constant traveler, for Bleise sent 


28 


MERLIN. 


him all over the world to see what people were doing, so that 
the book he was writing might be complete. Merlin was just 
the man for the task, as he had a wonderful way of getting about 
exceedingly fast, although he never told whether he used 
seven-league boots, or a magic mantle like Faust’s. 

In his travels he became acquainted with King Uther-Pen- 
dragon. As he grew to like him very much, he not only start- 
ed to form the Round Table for him, but he took a very lively 
interest in his son Arthur. He was bound to make* this little 
son a far greater man than his father had been, and so took 
him away from his parents and gave him to the good Sir 
Ector, as I have already told you. It seemed a very cruel 
thing to do, for he was taking a new-born baby away from its 
mother’s arms, and in after years this little child would have to 
fight his way to the throne through the blood of thousands, 
who had never known his lawful right to it. He never said 
why he did thus, but perhaps he thought that if Arthur were 
brought up with common people he would better understand 
their needs when he became their king. 

Merlin made Sir Ector swear that he would educate Arthur 
in all a knight should be taught, and then the old sage left his 
little ward to laugh and grow for a dozen years or more. Dur- 
ing this time Merlin busied himself here and there about the 
world until he saw that Arthur had become a fine, manly youth, 
almost ready for the kingdom he should soon have. 

Now no one knew that King Uther had a son, and certainly 
no one would be willing to have the adopted son of Sir Ector 
rule England. So Merlin had to plan some miracle to make 
them believe that Arthur was the rightful heir to the throne. 

He had the Archbishop of Canterbury call to London all the 
barons and kings from far and near. After they had come and 
had chanted mass in the cathedral, Merlin caused them to see 
the sword in the anvil which was fast in a block of granite. He 
pointed out to them the writing on this strange sword, of which 
you have already read, and he called upon them to come and 
try to pull out the sword as many times as they liked. You re- 
member that it took them long months to believe that Arthur 
should be their king, even after they had seen ever so many 
times that he was the only one who could pull out the sword. 


MERLIN. 


2 9 


However, Merlin finally persuaded the people of London to ac- 
cept Arthur and they formed his first army. 

It was time he had an army, for the kings of Wales and 
Scotland had joined with the kings of the different islands to 
make war on him and had come down far into the south of 
England. 

Now Merlin hurried Arthur off to a strong, castle with five 
hundred soldiers and sent along plenty of supplies, for he 
thought that these kings would besiege Arthur. This was just 
wha! they did, and after fifteen days of waiting, Merlin came 
out to them as a herald. They crowded around him at once 
and asked him by what right he was trying to make a boy king 
to rule over them. He gave them Arthur’s whole history and 
then told them that it was written in the books of prophecy 
that Arthur would one day rule, not only England, but Scot- 
land and Wales as well. After he had finished, he made them 
declare a truce so that Arthur could come out and speak to 
them. Accordingly every one lay down his arms and waited 
for Arthur to come and say his say. Merlin whispered to him, 
as he came out, to speak boldly as he himself had done and 
that then he would overcome them whether or not. 

Arthur obeyed Merlin to the letter and spoke boldly enough; 
but the six kings were determined to fight, so they sent the 
flaxen-haired boy back to the castle in scorn. When Merlin 
warned them they only laughed at him and called him a reader 
of dreams. They ceased laughing suddenly, however, as they 
saw him vanish into thin air. “What manner of man can this 
be ? ” they whispered to each other. 

Then it was his turn to laugh and he hurried away to Arthur, 
bidding him fight, “right now and to set on fiercely.” So the 
young King and the barons rushed out and fought until Merlin 
signaled to them that the rebel kings were beaten and it was 
time to stop. 

Arthur’s men wished to rest and carouse after this, but Mer- 
lin told the King that he must hurry back to London and call a 
council of the barons, so as to form a plan for keeping the 
rebels out of the land forever. The knights grumbled dread- 
fully at having to fight all day, ride all night, and then sit still 
and" think all next day. They had no plan, they said; 


30 


MERLIN. 


let him call Merlin. So Merlin came and brought them some 
news along with his counsel. The six rebel kings, he said, had 
already won over to their side four more kings and one very 
great duke; and they would soon be on their way back to burn 
and destroy all the castles in England and to make serfs of all 
its men. 

“Now I shall tell you mine advice,” he continued. “There 
are two brothers across the sea, good men of their hands; that 
one hight King Ban of Benwick, and that other hight King 
Bors of Gaul; and each shall bring a great army to the help of 
your King, for otherwise he can never overcome these rebel 
kings.” 

The knights thought this counsel was so good it should be 
acted upon at once; and they hastened to send swift messengers 
to the kings across the sea, begging them to come to King 
Arthur’s aid. 

King Ban and King Bors received the messengers royally, 
and when they learned King Arthur’s great need, made 
haste across the sea to him, bringing seven hundred knights 
with them. 

Now Merlin was not satisfied with this small number, even 
though they were lusty knights, for the rank and file of a great 
army was needed in this war, so he begged permission to go 
over the sea for more men. King Ban gave him his signet 
ring so that the people would know it was his order and would 
not fear to follow this white-haired stranger over to England. 
Without doubt, Merlin’s fair promises had quite as much to do 
with their willingness in coming as did King Ban’s ring, but 
however it was, before any one could believe it, he was back in 
England again with twelve thousand cavalrymen and supplies 
enough to last them all winter. People wondered at him more 
than ever, for they had had experience in war and they knew 
that an army could not be equipped and provided for in thirty 
days; no, nor in ninety, either. But there he was, smiling and 
eager as a child, ready to deliver his splendid army into King 
Ban’s hands. 

Although Merlin was not a warrior, he understood the 
theory of war better than any knight of chivalry, and far, far 
better than the three kings. They let their men fight as they 


MERLIN. 


3 1 

pleased, and let them wander where they would, and took no 
thought of spies. Mow Merlin ordered that his men be drilled, 
that they be taught passwords, and that all spies be kept out 
of the counsels of the king, and he sent scouts riding all over 
the North-land to find out at what points the rebels were aim- 
ing. All this seems very simple to us, but to those unlearned 
knights Merlin seemed to govern the army by some kind of 
magic. We know it was his shrewdness; they thought it was 
some superhuman power, and the odor of the original brim- 
stone seemed very evident to them just then. 

The scouts brought word which way the eleven rebel kings 
were coming and Merlin showed Arthur, Bors and Ban a fine 
place from which to fall upon them by night. As this did not suc- 
ceed, he went to work and planned an ambush for the second 
day’s battle. Then he sent out Arthur, Bors and Ban early in 
the morning, and they fought fiercely ail day till their horses 
stood in blood up to their fetlocks. Finally Merlin signaled 
that the rebels were retreating and it was enough, but Arthur 
was mad with the rage of battle and would not stop fighting. 
He lost all reason and slew on the left side as on the right, and 
hewed down all before him. Merlin was shocked at such 
cruelty and, jumping on a black charger, he galloped out to the 
King and scolded him well. “Thou hast never done! Hast 
thou not done enough? * * * fifteen thousand! It is time 

to say l Ho! ? For God is wroth that thou wilt never have 
done.” So Arthur reluctantly called “Ho !” and after he had 
gotten the army into some shape again, Merlin advised him to 
reward Bors and Ban and start them homeward. 

Merlin let Arthur and his men have a rest now and bade 
them wait beside the battlefield until he should go to far 
Northumberland and report this great battle of eleven kings 
against three, to his master Bleise. 

* * * One day, just as the King was wondering what 

had become of his wise counselor, a peasant came up to 
him, all dressed in black sheep skins under a russet gown, and 
wearing great boots, while he held a bow and arrows in one 
hand and brace of geese in the other. 

“Sire, will you give me a gift?” asked the stranger. “Where- 
fore should I give you a gift, churl?” “It is better, my lord 


32 


MERLIN. 


king, that thou givest me a gift which is not in thy hand than 
that thou losest great riches, for here where the battle was, is 
great treasure hid in the earth.” 

“Who told thee so, churl?” “Merlin told me so!” Thereat 
all the nobles smiled, for they knew it was Merlin and told the 
King so. Arthur was very much ashamed that he had called 
this wise man a churl, and yet he wondered how he really was 
to blame when Merlin came in such disguise. 

****** *** 

* * After the rebels were driven out of England and 

when Arthur had won Scotland and Wales for his own, 
something had to be done to keep his army in condition. 
How to do this puzzled even Merlin. He came to the con- 
clusion that Arthur must have a great court and must keep 
his men jousting every day when they were not on active 
duty of war. But how could they be kept at court and with 
whom would they joust? These puzzling questions stared 
him in the face until he bethought himself of the Round Table 
which he had begun for King Uther-Pendragon. Where was 
it now? 

As he was planning to take a little trip around the world to 
see what had become of it, Arthur sent for him to go on a 
journey of importance. This was nothing less than to get the 
King a wife. Merlin was perfectly willing to undertake so dif- 
ficult an errand, only he did not like Arthur’s choice. “The 
Lady Guenevere is false,” he said. “She shall love Launcelot and 
be loved by him.” However, the King would not believe such 
talk and ordered him to go at once to far away Cameliard and 
see what Guenevere had to say about the matter. 

Now Guenevere’s father was King Leodogrance and he hap- 
pened to have the Round Table at this time. Merlin heard of 
this long before he reached Cameliard and so hastened there 
all the more quickly. Presently he returned with both. He 
gave Guenevere over to the King as quickly as possible and 
busied himself about this great table. 

He started out to make a large, an immensely large round 
table. (Because, he said, “The world is round and — ” and, no 
doubt, if he had finished his sentence he would have said “and 
this little world of Arthur’s shall also be round and complete.” 


MERLIN. 


33 


As he finished placing the last board, he told the knights 
who idled about watching him, that all the world, Christian 
and heathen, would long to come to that table, and when they 
were once chosen to sit there, they would be happier than if 
they had been given half the world. They would willingly 
give up father and mother, wife or sweetheart, to belong to 
such fellowship — and to-day you and I know that this 
prophecy was true. 

Then he stopped talking and went to his magic work again. 
This time he made sieges and when they were finished, he 
found strange, flaming letters in them, telling the names of 
the knights who were to occupy them. 

This started his thoughts on the Holy Graal and he be- 
gan to prophesy who should achieve it. “Three white bulls, 
there shall be, who shall achieve it— and the one shall surpass 
his father as the lion surpasseth the leopard.” Then the listen- 
ing knights became uneasy about this Coming One and begged 
Merlin to make a seat for him which no one else could ever en- 
ter. So Merlin made the Siege Perilous, beautiful and terrible 
as you have read. 

Now when all was ready, he hastened off on a journey 
through the kingdom to find knights who were worthy to be- 
long to this fellowship. He found a few trusty ones and re- 
turned with them on Arthur’s wedding day, for the Round 
Table was to have its real beginning on that day. Merlin ar- 
ranged the procession, showed each knight his seat, and after 
the great feast he brought every man before King Arthur, to 
swear allegiance to him. 

So Arthur had his court at last and lived in the midst of one 
hundred and fifty knights, who were ready at any moment to 
fight for the honor of old England or its young ruler; and it was 
as great a joy to the man who made it as it was to the King 
himself. * * * * * * 

* * Merlin did many, many other things for Arthur 

of which there is no time to tell. He told him who his parents 
were and proved his right to the crown. He warned him 
against Mordred and foretold that he should one day be killed 
by this very same man. He never lost an opportunity to teach 
Arthur all the lore that kings should know. 


34 


MERLIN. 


Sometimes he even came in the night, for as he told the 
King, his death was very near. “Ward it off by thy crafts,” 
said Arthur. “Nay, that may not be,” Merlin sadly answered. 

For a long time he had been deep in love; so much so, that 
he forgot all else and followed ( Nimue, his lady-love, every- 
where. She was the Lady of the Lake, you remember who 
gave Arthur the wonderful Excalibur. She was very anxious 
to learn all that Merlin would teach her, but she was unwilling 
to give him any affection in return. Beside that, after she had 
learned all he knew, she grew very weary of him; and after she 
found that she could not possibly get rid of him, she grew 
very much afraid of him. Selfish fear made her very cruel. 
She tempted him to follow her across the sea to the land of 
Benwick, where, he had told her, was a wonderful rock She 
would allow him to show her that rock. It was hollow and lay 
under a mighty boulder. There were wonderfully brilliant 
things in that rock. She would deign to let Merlin go down 
within it and fetch some of them, many of them up to her. 
Merlin stepped down into the hollow rock. She closed it and, 
by the magic she had learned of him, turned the great boulder 
above it, and buried him there alive. 

Oh, how long it took for Merlin to die! People say that even 
now, the rock by the sea, moans and sighs. Perhaps it is re- 
calling that sorrowful, shameful chapter of its history. 




SIR GARETH. 


Once when Arthur, with all the Round Table, was dining 
at Kinkenadon Castle, three strange men came into the hall. 
Two of these were richly dressed and upon their shoulders 
leaned a tall youth who seemed to be lame. He was large and 
broad and fine looking, and his hands were most beautifully 
white Without a word they helped him to the throne and 
then, to everybody’s astonishment, he straightened up and said: 
“King Arthur, God you bless and all this fair fellowship. For 
this cause am I come hither, — to pray you to give me three 
gifts, and they shall not be to your hurt. The first gift I will 
ask now and the other two a year from to-day, an it please you/’ 

“Now ask and ye shall have your asking,” answered the 
King. 

“Sire, this is my petition, that ye shall give me meat 
and drink for a year.” “My fair son,” said Arthur, some- 
what disappointed, “Ask better I counsel thee. That is but a 
simple asking. My heart telleth me that thou shalt become 
a man of great worship, therefore ask thou better.” “Sire, 
therefore be it as it may, I have asked that I may ask.” 

“Well,” said the King, “ye shall have meat and drink 
enough, for I have never refused that to friend or foe. But 
what is thy name?” “I cannot tell thee that/’ the boy 
answered. “That is a marvel, that thou knowest not thy name, 
and thou art the goodliest young man I ever saw,” said the 
King; and then he called Sir Kay, the steward, and command- 
ed him to see that this young man had every thing he wished 
to eat and drink for a year and that he should be treated as if 
he were a lord’s son. 


3 » 


SIR GARETH. 


However, Sir Kay only mocked him and said: — ‘‘Sir Beau- 
mains (White Hands), get you a place and set yourself down to 
eat.” So he .sat down among the boys and lads and there ate 
very sadly. At night he went into the kitchen and was forced 
to sleep among the kitchen boys, although both Launcelot and 
Gawaine begged that he might come with them. There was 
something mysterious about him, but he lived all that year 
humbly and was always courteous. Launcelot gave him gold 
to spend, which he always used for tournaments and joustings, 
for he never missed one thing where deeds. of arms were done. 

Time passed till Whitsunday, when King Arthur held a 
great feast at Carlion. Here a damsel came, asking help of the 
King. “For whom,” said Arthur. “Sire, I have a famous lady 
and she is besieged by a tyrant, Sir Ironsides, the Knight of 
the Red Lawns.” Just as she was speaking, Beaumains came 
and said: ‘‘Sire, I have been with you a year to-day and now I 
will ask my second gift. Let me help this maiden. And for 
my third gift, let me be made a knight of Sir Launcelot du 
Lake, when I shall ask it of him.” “Both of these wishes I 
grant you,” said the King willingly. However, the damsel was 
displeased that she could not have some great knight of the 
court, and she left in anger. Right at this time some one came 
and told Beaumains that his horse and golden harness had come 
and that a dwarf had brought him garments of cloth of gold 
and every thing else that he needed. When he had armed he 
came into the hall to bid farewell to the King and Launcelot 
and they thought him the handsomest knight they had ever 
seen. Asking Launcelot to follow him, he rode quickly after 
the maiden who was called Linet. 

Now when he had gone. Sir Kay said: “I will ride after my 
boy of the kitchen and see if he will know me for his better.” 
“You would better not,” said Gawaine, but Sir Kay did not heed 
his warning and galloped quickly after Beaumains. Just as the 
latter overtook Linet, Sir Kay rode up shouting, “Beaumains, 
what sir, do you not know me?” “Yea, I know you for an un- 
gentle knight of the court, therefore beware of me.” “But as 
Beaumains had no shield or spear, Sir Kay did not beware and, 
taking his spear in his hand, he ran straight upon the young 
lad. Beaumains thrust the spear aside and wounded Sir Kay 


SIR GARETH. 


39 


so badly with his sword that he fell down all but dead. Then 
the young conqueror took Kay’s shield and spear, mounted his 
horse and rode away, telling his dwarf to follow on Kay’s. 

All this the damsel saw and so did Launcelot. Beaumains 
now came up to them and asked Launcelot to joust, which he 
was unwilling to do, for he thought that this young stripling 
fought more like a giant than a knight. Then he offered 
Beaumains the order of knighthood on condition that he should 
tell his name. “I am Gareth, youngest brother of Sir Gawaine, 
son of the Queen and King of Orkney and nephew to King 
Arthur.” With this knowledge Launcelot gladly knighted him 
and sent him after the damsel on his first adventure. 

As Linet had not yet recovered from her displeasure, she 
said when she saw him, “What dost thou here, kitchen page? 
Thou smellest of the kitchen and thy clothes are soiled with 
grease and tallow. I know thee well, for thou art a turner of 
spits and a ladle-washer. Turn again thou kitchen page.’* 
“Damsel,” answered Gareth, “say to me what you will, I have 
promised King Arthur to fulfill your adventure and so I shall 
or die therefore.” Just then came his first adventure on this 
perilous way, in which he killed six highway roboers and res- 
cued a knight. But still the maiden would have nothing to do 
with him and bade him ride behind her. The next day he met 
with his second adventure as they were about to cross a deep 
river and there he killed two great knights. Yet still she chid 
him and called him coward and knave and all the ill things she 
could think of. 

Nothwithstanding, Gareth rode on with her, patient under 
all her insolence. 

That day at sunset they came to a black lawn and there was 
a black hawthorne, whereon hung a clack banner, and on the 
other side hung a black shield and by it stood a black spear, 
great and long, and a great, black horse covered with silk, 
stood near by beside a black stone. There sat a knight all armed 
in black and his name was Sir Percard or the Knight of the 
Black Lawns. When Linet saw that the charger was not 
saddled, she told Gareth to run away while he had the chance. 

“Gramercy,” said he indignantly, “Ye would always have 
me be a coward.” Then the black knight called upon Gareth to 


40 


SIR GARETH. 


fight, or else lose his lady and called him also a kitchen knave. 
“Thou liest, I am a gentleman born and higher than thou in 
lineage, and that I will prove upon thy body,” called back 
Gareth. They rushed together and gave each other fearful 
blows with spear and sword, Gareth getting the better of the 
Black Knight Then he took the latter’s armor and hurried 
after Linet. Still ungracious, she said, “I have no joy in thee. 
Away, thou knave! Soon thou shalt meet a knight that shalt 
grieve thee.” 

As she said this, there rode towards them a knight all in 
green harness, Sir Pertelope or the Knight of the Green 
Lawns. When he learned that Gareth was in his dead brother’s 
armor, he was very angry. He rode to a thorn bush and blew 
on a green horn three loud blasts. Out ran two maidens 
also dressed in green, who armed him quickly and brought him 
a great horse and a green shield and spear. Then they rushed 
together like two mighty champions, but Gareth over-topped 
him as the weed overgrows the young corn. Soon he had him 
down, begging for mercy and saying, “If thou wilt suffer me to 
live, I will forgive thee the death of my brother and will for- 
ever be thy man and my thirty knights shall serve thee.” But 
no mercy would Gareth show him until the maiden Linet beg- 
ged for his life. 

That night they spent at the Green Knight’s castle. When 
they were at supper Linet would not allow Gareth to sit at the 
same table with her, but scorned him as at first. This the 
Green Knight could not understand and so he became more 
obedient to Gareth, the more she reviled him. The next morn- 
ing he led them through a long, perilous forest and then re- 
turned to get his men ready to go to King Arthur and report 
Gareth’s victories. 

As Linet and her champion rode out of the forest, they saw 
ahead of them a white tower and over the tower-gate hung fifty 
shields of all colors. The lord of this castle, Sir Perimones, 
seeing the maid coming with a champion, hastily armed and 
came out to fight. Gareth was so wounded that the blood ran 
down in streams, but he finally made Sir Perimones beg for 
mercy. This made Gareth lord over his castle and his fifty 
good knights as well. There they stayed that night, but still 


SIR GARETH. 


41 


Linet scorned Gareth as a kitchen page and would not let him 
eat with her. “I may be beaten or killed,” he said patiently, 
“but I shall follow you until the end cometh.” 

The next day they hurried on their journey and about 
noon came to a city before which was a meadow, gay with 
tents, where five hundred knights were riding about. In the 
midst of all stood a blue tent with armor, shields and all about 
it blue. This belonged to the lord of the five hundred knights, 
who was called Sir Persant of Inde. 

Gareth was eager to joust with him and hurried toward the 
meadow in spite of Linet’s remonstrance. She had relented 
and was sorry now that she had so ill used him, for his danger 
was very great. Sir Persant now asked Gareth whether he 
came in peace or war and he answered, “Battle to the utter- 
most.” Then they fought till their armor was cut to pieces. At 
last Gareth gave the Blue Knight a dreadful buffet on the hel- 
met, which made him fall. Then our knight was glad indeed, 
for this made him master of the famous Sir Persant and of one 
hundred lesser knights. However, he was worn out and had to 
stay in the Blue Knight’s tent a night and two days before he 
could even think of moving on. At this time Sir Persant in- 
quired of Linet where she was leading this youthful champion 
and she told him to the Castle Dangerous, where her sister, Dame 
Liones,was shut in by Sir Ironsides, the Red Knight of the Red 
Lawns. “Alas,” said he, “this man hath the strength of seven 
men and he is waiting for Launcelot, or Tristram, or Lamorake. 
If thou canst overcome him thou shalt be the fourth greatest 
knight in the world.” 

Soon Gareth was able to continue his journey, and as they 
were nearing the Castle Dangerous, Linet sent the dwarf ahead 
to tell her sister that the champion was corning. In the mean- 
time they rested at an hermitage where Dame Liones had sent 
flagons of wine and venison for their refreshment. Here Gareth 
rested well. The next day, as they rode through the forest 
near the castle, he noticed here and there almost forty noble 
knights hanging by the neck to the trees, their shields and 
swords dangling down in front of them most horridly. When 
Gareth saw this dreadful sight his courage failed him and he 
prayed that he might not haye to suffer this shameful death. 


42 


SIR GARETH. 


Then he saw, hanging on a sycamore tree, a monstrous horn of 
ivory which the Knight of the Red Lawns had hung there for all 
knights errant to blow upon when they wished to fight with 
him. “But, sir, I pray you, blow ye not that horn till it be high 
noon, for now he has seven men’s strength, but in the afternoon 
it decreaseth.” “Ah, fie for shame, fair damsel/'* answered 
Gareth, “I will fight him when he is strongest; for either I will 
win honor or else die a true knight.” 

Then he spurred his horse straight to the sycamore tree and 
blew the horn so eagerly that all the castle rang.Then the knights 
leapt out of their tents and those within the castle peeped over 
the wall or looked out the windows. The Red Knight was 
armed quickly and two barons set red spurs to his heels and an 
earl buckled on his red helmet and they brought him a red 
spear and a red horse. Thus he rode forth, all in blood red, to 
meet Gareth. 

Dame Liones stood at the window, waving her hand to her 
champion, and his courage rose, for he thought her the most 
beautiful woman he ever had seen and now he would win her 
at any cost. Then the battle began. First they hurtled to- 
gether on horseback and each shattered his spear on the other’s 
shield. Then they jumped to the ground and rushed at each 
other with their swords, splitting helmets and lopping off great 
pieces of armor — panting, blowing, bleeding, till they stopped 
from sheer exhaustion. Soon the battle began anew, when 
Gareth fell under a dreadful buffet. But Linet shrieked and 
moaned, “O Sir Gareth. Sir Gareth, where is thy courage? 
My sister weepeth and sobbeth, for she thinketh that thou art 
dead.” When he heard this, with one last effort he bounded 
up, seized his sword and smote upon the Red Knight’s helmet 
till his head bowed low and his weak voice begged for mercy. 

Then came a long procession of earls and barons, who fell 
on their knees and begged Gareth to spare Sir Ironsides’ life, 
even though they all must become his prisoners. Dame Liones 
waved her hand, signifying that his life should he spared, hence 
Gareth did so. 

Thus he won his first great adventure as a knight of the 
Round Table and so became master of its most famous enemy 
and of his six hundred vassals. Now Linet came to dress the 


SIR GARETH. 


43 


wounds of both weary knights. She thoughtfully ordered rest 
for Gareth and a change of climate for Sir Ironsides. 

So the former rested here ten days and the latter went back 
to Arthur’s court to report Gareth’s conquest Here he told 
the whole story and Arthur wondered and wondered who 
this Beaumains could be. Launcelot, however, smiled and said 
nothing. 

Meanwhile Gareth went to the Castle Dangerous to claim 
his reward. You can imagine how surprised he was to find it 
all closed, with armed men guarding it. He looked up and 
seeing Dame Liones at the window, asked her what it all meant. 
“Sir, ye cannot win my love until ye have placed your name 
and arms high among men of fame. Ride away now for a 
year on adventures, and if by that time ye return, ye shall have 
my love and trust.” “Fair lady, I have not deserved this of 
you,” he complained, and he rode away weeping so bitterly 
that he neither knew nor cared whither he was going. In this 
way he passed two days and nights. 

Then Dame Liones was sorry for her cruelty and arranged 
matters so that Gareth should be brought to her brother, Sir 
Gringamore’s castle. Thither she and Linet came also and 
when she had learned of Gareth’s noble lineage, she did not 
hesitate to plight him her troth. 

News travelled slowly in those olden times and only just 
now had Gareth’s mother, the Queen of Orkney, heard how her 
young son had been treated at the court. She went there at 
once and scolded the King and the Round Table well for Sir 
Kay’s discourtesy, as well as for allowing so young a knight to 
undertake so dangerous an adventure. Arthur was much con- 
fused to know that this Beaumains was his own nephew and, 
as he could not get word of his whereabouts, he sent word to 
Dame Liones to come at once to the court and tell the Queen 
where her son was. She pretended not to know, although 
Gareth’s mother asked her many a question. However, she 
did say that she intended to hold a great tournament soon and 
if King Arthur and the Round Table would come against her, 
they might possibly see Sir Gareth. “Oho! the wind blows 
from that quarter, does it?” laughed the King, and the Round 


44 


SIR GAkETH. 


Table made the welkin ring with “Of course we will come, 
man for man.” 

Now Gareth sent word to all the knights he had conquered 
on the perilous passage to the Castle Dangerous, to come and 
support Dame Liones’ side of the tournament. Many other 
famous knights came with them, among whom was Sir Tris- 
tram. 

They made a brilliant procession all riding in together; but 
Gareth, master of them all, rode humbly among the meaner 
knights. Dame Liones received King Arthur and his merry 
men, to whom she gave beautiful pavilions and all to eat and 
drink that could be brought by land and sea, and all the music 
and jollity that could be thought of. 

Before the jousting began, she gave Gareth a ring which 
would keep him from losing blood and which would also turn 
his armor into any color he wished. This made him very hap- 
py indeed and he dashed into the field, smiting down knights 
on the right and on the left, and ever changing from red into blue 
or green, now white, next brown-never in two battles the same. 
Arthur and all the people marvelled at him and tried in vain 
to find out whoever he could be, that so wonderfully changed 
his colors. 

After a while Gareth grew thirsty and rode out of the field 
to a brook. While he drank, for fear he should lose the ring, 
he bade his dwarf hold it. However, in his hurry to return to 
the field he forgot it and rushed into battle again in yellow 
colors. Now the heralds could follow him, since his colors no 
longer changed, and they finally discovered who he was. How 
they did shout. “This is Sir Gareth in the yellow colors!” and 
all the people rushed up to have a good look at him. He was 
so confused that he turned his horse and fled out of the field 
from mere bashfulness. 

This sudden fame was unwelcome to him, and as his lady, 
Dame Liones, was still unkind, he suddenly determined to go 
off on adventures. He had not gone far, however, when 
Gawaine overtook him and insisted that Gareth should return 
whether or no. Linet saw the brothers about to fight and rode 
quickly to tell the King. Then Arthur had his horse saddled 
and rode away to stop them, saying that all the lords and ladies, 


SIR GARETH. 


45 


who wished, might follow. “What a saddling queens’ horses 
and princes’ horses there was, and well for him that soonest 
might be ready.” At last they all came to Gareth and brought 
him back to the Round Table, and the^ begged him to forgive 
Sir Kay’s evil treatment and discourtesy. 

Now King Arthur undertook a great wedding for Dame 
Liones and Gareth, and he held court for them for forty days 
with all kinds of feasts and revels; “for all the world honored 
Gareth, as he was a noble knight, well ruled and' fair 
languaged.” 

Then he and his lady Liones went back to her strong castle 
by the sea, where the waves dashed on the eastern walls, where 
the ships lay at anchor and from below the high turret windows 
they could hear the mariners’ “hale and hollow.” 


















































































































































































s 






















































































> 



























































































































































































I 







SIR TRISTRAM 


Tristram was a prince of the country of Liones, a very un- 
fortunate prince indeed. His troubles began with his very 
first breath. When he was born his Queen Mother died of 
cold far out in the forest where she had been running hither 
and thither hunting his father, King Melodias, who had been 
spirited away by enchantment. A waiting maid of the Queen’s 
happened to be along too, so she wrapped poor Tristram as 
well as she could in her veil to keep him warm, and hurried 
with him to the castle to tell her sad story. 

All the barons wanted to kill the small stranger, as they 
thought the King must be dead and they preferred to rule 
themselves. 

However, old Merlin found the King and got him home 
in time to save the child’s life. 

These misfortunes brought great grief to King Melodias, 
so that he had his tiny son christened, “Tristram,” or The 
Sorrowful Born Childe,” a name most fitting for his whole life. 

When he was seven years old, a jealous step-mother tried 
twice to poison the poor little Knight, but as the wrong per- 
sons drank the poison, she was condemned to be burned at the 
stake as a murderess. The wood was heaped about her feet 
and the page was just lighting the fire, as little Tristram crept 
timidly in and knelt at his father’s feet to ask a favor. When 
the King said, “I will grant it thee,” Tristram asked that his 
father show mercy to the Queen. Then Melodias answered, 
“I will give her to thee, so go ye to the fire and take her and 
do with her what you will.” Then he ran and freed her from 
this dreadful death. 


SO 


SIR TklSTRAM 


Lest further danger should come to this brave little matt, 
the King sent him with a tutor into France. Here he stayed 
seven years. By this time he could speak French as well 
as any one and had learned all there was to know of chivalry 
in that country. He could play the harp too. In fact he loved 
music so well that he could bring the most beautiful sounds 
from any instrument, however simple; and the world first 
heard of him as the greatest harper in England. You would 
have liked best to hear him blow the bugle. He knew every call 
of every army, and each morning at sun-rise he would awaken 
all the castle by his merry notes. Most of his time he spent 
hunting and hawking. No one could follow (he hounds as 
closely as he or as surely, and when he came home at sun-set 
he would sit down by his harp and tell his mother all about it 
in music. You can imagine what a lively court the King had. 
when Tristram was at home. 

This was not often, however, or long at a time, for Tristram 
seemed born to lead an active life fighting others’ battles. He 
began at nineteen, when he was dubbed Knight in order to 
fight as the champion of Cornwall. His uncle, King Mark, 
ruled that land, and he fitted out Tristram with the best horse 
and armor that gold could buy. Sir Marhaus, the knight 
against whom he fought, was champion for Ireland and was an 
old, tried knight of the Round Table; but Tristram cared not a 
whit for that. They fought this great battle on an island 
where all the people could see them and it lasted long and 
wearily. Finally Tristram sent his sword through Sir Marhaus' 
helmet and so far into his head that it left a piece of its edge 
in his brain. Then Sir Marhaus threw away shield and spear 
and fled to his ships to die. Tristram was also fatally wounded 
by his enemy’s spear, which had been poisoned. He was taken 
to Tintagil castle and tenderly cared for, but he lay sick for a 
long while and could not be cured. Finally a magician said 
that he must go to the country from whence the poison came, 
for there they would know the remedy for it. So King Mark 
placed Tristram in -a ship with Gouvernail, his old tutor, and 
they sailed away to Ireland. 

When they landed near the King’s castle, Tristram sat up 
in bed and played a merry tune on his harp. The King and 


SIR TRISTRAM. 


5 


all his people ran out in wonder, for they had never before 
heard a harp. Afterward they brought him into the palace 
and asked him many questions. These he answered by saying 
that he came from the country of Liones and that his name was 
Tramtrist. He dared not tell his name, for the King would 
have killed him, being so angry about Sir Marhaus’ death. 
Isoud the Beautiful, the King’s daughter, was now brought to 
him and, as she was a noble surgeon, she searched his wounds 
and, in time, cured him. Before long he was well and strong 
again and began teaching her to play the harp and to hunt and 
hawk. So they grew very found of each other. 

Now there was another famous knight who loved her, Sir 
Palamides the Saracen, and he proved to be a very tiresome 
and unscrupulous rival to Sir Tramtrist. The King gave many 
a tournament to see which was the better knight, and as their 
honors were equal, they carried this rivalry during their lives 
in England or Wales or wherever they happened to be. 

Tramtrist’s stay in Ireland now came to an unpleasant end, 
for misfortune followed him here, as it did every other place, 
and his departure came about in this way. Isoud’s mother was 
once looking at his sword. Suddenly she noticed that a piece 
had been broken from the edge. Now she knew the shape of 
that piece very well, for she herself had drawn it from Sir 
Marhaus’ head. She ran to her room and brought back the 
little piece and it exactly fitted into the edge of the sword. 
Nothing would do now but that Tristram must be killed, or 
else banished, as he was now known to be Ireland’s greatest 
enemy. As no one in the court dared to kill him, they sent 
him back to Liones post-haste. 

When once again at home, King Melodias gave him a great 
castle to live in and all the servants and soldiers he wanted. 
He was content to hunt and joust there for awhile, but was 
unable to do so long, for he was immediately called out again 
into the world of adventures. This time King Mark sent him 
back to Ireland to bring back Isoud, the Beautiful, to be queen 
of Cornwall. It was a dangerous journey for Tristram to at- 
tempt, for all Ireland hated him as the murderer of Sir Marhaus; 
yet he was not one whit afraid. A storm wrecked him on the 
English coast near Camelot, and in this way he came to King 


5 2 


SIR TRISTRAM. 


Arthur’s court. Now whom should he find there but the King 
of Ireland, who had been called to court to answer for some 
misdeed. As he stood in great need of a champion, he gladly 
accepted Tristram’s offered aid, forgetting all about his dis- 
courtesy to Tristram, when in Ireland. Tristram fought his 
battle successfully and then they sailed toward home, where 
they found Isoud quite ready to set out for Cornwall. 

On the day Isoud and Tristram started, Isoud’s mother gave 
a flask of wine to Gouvernail, saying that it was a love drink 
and that he should give it to Isoud and King Mark on their 
wedding day, so that they would always love each other. 
Gouvernail carelessly left it in the ship’s cabin, where Isoud 
and Tristram, thinking it a good drink for thirsty people, 
drank it. This made them lovers forever and was the cause of 
Tristram’s great unhappiness and fearful death. 

No one in Cornwall had ever seen a lady as beautiful as 
Isoud, and poor King Mark had a hard time to keep her safe 
and sound. First he grew jealous of Tristram and banished 
him. Then the old King was obliged to recall this same 
Tristram, for the first he knew. Sir Palamides had carried her 
off. Tristram gladly rescued her from this old time rival and 
hoped to be allowed to stay in Cornwall near her, but the 
King’s jealousy was greater than his gratitude, and so the only 
true knight in Cornwall was again banished. Soon, however, 
he was summoned again, for this time Sir Lamorake had car- 
ried her off and there was great confusion. 

Now Tristram had been wounded by a poisoned arrow and 
lay sick for a long time. Isoud, the Beautiful, consulted many 
magicians and discovered that this had been a French arrow 
and that he must go to France where the poison came from. 

There he found another Isoud, who cured him. This one 
was Isoud of the White Hands of Brittany. She and her whole 
family immediately fell in love with the wounded knight and 
he, as the story says, ‘‘surrounded by good cheer and great 
riches, forgot his love, Isoud the Beautiful, and wedded her of 
the White Hands.” 

Then they took a boat to sail down the coast, but a storm 
wrecked them on' the English shore, where Isoud was hurt. 
This is the last time we ever hear of Her of the White Hands. 


SIR TRISTRAM. 53 

She must have died, for Tristram went off on adventures very 
soon after. 

On this journey he won his first castle, overcome three 
knights of the Round Table and rescued King Arthur from a 
dreadful sorceress. With all these deeds he was weary 
enough to return home, where he hoped to rest awhile with 
King Melodias. 

Here he met Isoud the Beautiful once more, and on account 
of some misunderstanding, he forgot his knightly habits and 
went wandering hither and yon in the forests, weeping and 
complaining about her, until he was out of his mind. 

Sometimes he would take off his armor and rush out to 
break down trees and brushwood; sometimes he would find his 
harp, which Gouvernail had left for him by the brookside, and 
would play on it for hours at a time. He fell in with a com- 
pany of shepherds, who often beat him, and they clipped his 
hair so that he would look like the King’s fool. As they would 
give him nothing to eat, he grew thin and weak, but sometimes, 
nevertheless, in a frenzy, he did great deeds. In one of these 
he killed a famous giant called Taulus. The fame of this came 
to King Mark’s ears and he set out to find this madman. 
Tristram was asleep by a fountain when he came. He had a 
warm cloak thrown over the poor wretch and then had him 
gently carried to Tintagil castle. There they bathed the un- 
known man and fed him, and slowly he came to his right mind. 

La Belle Isoud came to see him, but he was so changed that 
she did not recognize him. He knew her, however, and he 
turned away his face lest she should see his tears. Now 
Tristram had once given her a little hound, which never 
left her for any other person, and this little creature barked 
and fawned upon him so that it told his secret to all the court. 

King Mark was angry enough that this was Tristram and at 
once banished him again for ten years. So he was hurried off 
on his second journey of adventures. This time he overcame, 
first one, then three more famous knights of the Round Table, 
next he rescued Sir Launcelot from the wicked plans of Morgan 
Le Fay by attacking, single-handed, thirty knights whom she 
had sent to kill Launcelot. On account of this brave act, 
Tristram's fame went far and wide, and every famous knight he 


54 


SIR TRISTRAM. 


met begged him to join the Round Table. However, he 
answered, “Not yet, for I am not worthy.” 

Morgan Le Fay also heard of his help to Launcelot and at 
once laid the same trap for him. Fortunately Sir Gawaine 
warned him and rode with him to her castle, but as her thirty 
false knights were afraid of Tristram, Morgan Le Fay could 
not harm him after all. 

One day he vode on his way toward the Castle of Maidens, 
where a great tournament was to be held, in which Sir 
Launcelot and his thirty kinsmen were to hold the field 
against any one who would come against them Tristram car- 
ried a plain black shield, so that no one would know him, and 
came rushing into the field “so roughly and so bigly” that no 
one could withstand him, “for he fared like a greyhound among 
the conies.” “O Mercy,” said Arthur, “never since I bare 
arms, saw I never no knight fight like this one.” 

Each day his brave fighting won him the prize. The last 
day, however, Sir Launcelot entered the field and they fought 
together so mightily that kings and lords and ladies stood still 
to look at them. No one could tell who won the prize that 
day, for Launcelot gave Tristram a dreadful spear wound and 
Tristram gave Launcelot three such buffets on the helmet that 
his head bowed low in the saddle. Then Tristram rode away 
quickly to have his wound staunched and no one could find 
him for many a day. 

King Arthur was very angry to have so brave a knight go 
unrewarded and sent out four great knights, led by Launcelot, 
to find him. 

They hunted for over a year, but could find no trace of him, 
and no wonder, for during this time poor Tristram had been 
thrown into prison and lay suffering from a dreadful sickness. 

As soon as he recovered from it and escaped from this 
place, Morgan Le Fay seized him and made him a prisoner in 
her strong tower. She allowed him to go out from it only on 
condition that he would promise to carry a shield to King 
Arthur at the jousting at Hard Rock Castle. To do this would 
place him in great danger, but he did not know it, and so rode 
happily away, carrying the evil shield. Fortunately they did 
not know who bore the evil thing, and so, although Arthur, 


SIR TRISTRAM. 


55 


Guinevere and all Launcelot’s kinsmen were very angry and 
fought with him about it, they had no ill will towards Tristram 
himself. Morgan Le Fay was delighted at all this displeasure 
and trouble and rejoiced to see Tristram ride away from the 
court dejected and unhappy and be obliged to fight knight 
after knight of the Round Table all along his journey. 

Launcelot w r as one of the knights who had been sent 
out to find Tristram a year before and was just returning 
from his vain search, when they met each other here at 
Hard Rock Castle. The former was armed in white and 
and the latter in black and. as their vizors were closed, 
they did not know each other. They fell to fighting most 
terribly and the red blood ran down in streams. Their 
squires, who stood far away, fairly wept to see such blows. At 
last Launcelot stopped to ask who this sturdy knight might be, 
who fought so well. When he found that this was Tristram 
and when Tristram knew this was Launcelot, then these two 
friends were sorry for all that battling and took off their hel- 
mets and kissed each other. What a pity it was not the fashion 
to ride with one’s helmet off always! 

Now after they were cooled off, they washed their faces in 
the brook and rode merrily back to court, Tristram no longer 
bearing the evil shield. 

When Arthur learned that this was the knight he had so 
long wished to know, he ran to him and took him by the hand. 
Then Queen Guinevere and all her ladies came to him and 
said, “Welcome, Sir Tristram.” Then came all the maidens 
and smiled, “Welcome, my lord.” Then all the knights 
crowded round him and cried, “Welcome, fellow.” Then said 
Arthur again, “Welcome, Sir Tristram, for one of the best 
knights and the gentlest in the world, and the man of most 
worship. 

“For all manner of hunting thou bearest the prize; of all 
measures of blowing the bugle thou art the beginner; of players 
on instruments thou art best. Therefore, gentle knight, thou 
art welcome to this court and I will that ye stay at this court 
with me.” Then Arthur went to the sieges about the Round 
Table and looked in every siege. There he saw the empty 
siege of Sir Marhaus, letters that said: “This is the siege of the 


56 


SIR TRISTRAM 


noble knight Sir Tristram. ” Then our hero was made a 
knight of the Round Table with great pomp and Arthur held a 
great feast in his honor for all who would come from every 
land. 

At this time he sent for King Mark and made him receive 
Tristram back into friendship and allow him to return to Corn- 
wall. Nevertheless, all the Round Table feared to have Tris- 
tram return with King Mark, for they well knew what a 
treacherous man he was and, moreover, Launcelot had spoken 
to King Arthur of Mark’s badness, saying: “It is hard to take 
out of the flesh that which is bred in the bone.” 

Tristram also feared Mark’s deceitfulness, but, as he 
wished to see La Belle Isoud, he was willing to run any risk. 
She was delighted that he was to be at home once more and gave 
a great tournament in honor of his return. Of course he had 
to fight in it. But as his usual misfortune followed him, he 
received a dreadful wound the very first thing. 

Before this was healed, civil war broke out and King Mark 
forced him to put it down. Sick as he was, Tristram fought 
like a lion and so inspired the army that he put the rebels to 
flight. Only the captain remained. He refused to go until he 
could fight alone with King Mark or his champion. Of course 
this coward King dared not meet him and the Cornish 
nobles would not. So they sent again for weary Tristram. 
Without a word he put on his heavy armor, as well as he 
could, and went out to fight as bravely as ever. After an 
hour his strength failed and he could do little more than hold 
up his shield while the rebel captain gave him twenty 
strokes to one. Then all the rebels began to laugh and the 
King’s party wept. Suddenly Tristram thought of Isoud. He 
took courage, lifted his shield, swung his sword and gave the 
rebel twenty strokes to his one. Then King Mark’s party be- 
gan to laugh and the rebels wept, for Tristram killed his man. 
They carried him back to Tintagil castle again, where he 
was sick unto death for long, weary weeks; but this time no one 
was allowed to take care of him, for, as usual, King Mark was 
jealous instead of grateful and hoped he might die. 

In spite of Mark’s intentions, Tristram finally recovered and 
hurried off to a tournament near by. However fast he might 


SIR TRISTRAM. 


57 


ride, King Mark was ahead of him and had knights ready to set 
upon him suddenly and kill him there. He seemed to bear a 
charmed life, for they only wounded him. The wily King now 
pretended to be sorry and generously gave him a salve for his 
wounds. This was really a drug to make him sleep. While it 
was acting, Tristram was taken back to Tintagil and thrown 
into a deep dungeon where none could hear of him, much less 
hope to find him. Here he was like to die for light and air. 
He would have died had not the faithful Sir Percival 
heard of his sudden disappearance and, fearing treachery 
from King Mark, he came far into Cornwall to rescue him. 
Percival threatened the false King with war from the Round 
Table, and so brought it about that Tristram was set free 
once more. 

But it was not for long. Percival had no sooner left the 
country than Mark grew brave again and once more threw 
Tristram into an unknown prison. The whole country of 
Cornwall was enraged at this and helped Queen Isoud bring 
Tristram out. 

Then they threw the King into one of his own dungeons, 
while Tristram and Isoud hurried to the country of Logris, 
over which King Arthur ruled. Launcelot, true friend in need, 
was glad of their coming and gave them his own castle ‘‘Joyous 
Garde,” telling his servants to honor Tristram as they would 
himself. 

King Arthur was also glad that Tristram and Isoud were at 
last free from the wicked Mark, and in Tristram’s honor had 
his heralds call a jousting for May Day at Lonazep. (That 
was near Joyous Garde.) Isoud went to work at once to get 
Tristram new suits of armor and a beautiful new helmet with 
long waving plumes. When the time came they started for 
Lonazep with four knights of the Round Table and with 
squires and maids in a long procession, riding to Isoud’s tents 
beside the fountain. Then the jousting began and Tristram, 
with all his party, entered the field in green trappings and 
shields. As soon as the others knew them, they hurried away 
to Isoud’s tents and came back in black armor and with black 
horses. All the others thought they were strangers and the 
battle began anew, this time the King and Launcelot joining 


SIR TRISTRAM. 


5 » 


in. After a while Tristram and his men succeeded in slipping 
away amid the noise and confusion and back they came again 
in red armor on red horses. Down the field they came 
like so many wolves and the knights fled to right and left be- 
fore them. What a shouting and din of battle arose! Finally 
Launcelot recognized our knight. Then the heralds found him 
out and the cry, “O Tristram! O Tristram!” was so loud that it 
was heard two miles away, as far as Camelot. 

From this great tournament his fame went back to Corn- 
wall and Liones, whence his proud kinsmen flocked to support 
and honor him, but this was also very unfortunate because it re- 
vealed to King Mark where Tristram and Isoud were. 

One day Queen Isoud was very unhappy, for she felt that 
something unpleasant was about to happen. Tristram took his 
harp and tried to play away her forebodings. He sang of those 
first happy days in France and his music re-echoed through the 
hall. Silently a shadow crept toward him from the door be- 
hind, a dagger flashed in the moonlight and King Mark had 
killed our Tristram. 



Dinadan 




DIN AD AN, 


There was great shouting and laughing in the field, and 
above the din some one was calling, “O, Launcelot, thou old 
shrew, I never can beware of thee!” 

This was Sir Dmadan, the Round Table’s favorite. 

They had all come to the city of Surluse because a mighty 
tournament was to be held there, Arthur’s knights holding 
the field against any or all who would fight. 

The King and Queen sat on their throne at the head of the 
field, while all the Queen’s ladies clustered near them under the 
great cloth of-gold canopy. A few armed knights also stood 
near, waiting beside their pawing chargers until it should be 
their turn to ride into the field. 

Somehow Queen Guenevere was not interested in all this, 
and there was a splendid fight going on, too. The King, noticing 
her moodiness, called out to Sir Dinadan to come up and amuse 
her. Now it was an unheard thing for a knight ever to refuse 
the slightest request of a lady, yet this mad young fellow dared 
to say, “Out upon her! I am no lover; I would liever fight a 
good fight than talk to a lack lorn maid, unless it be that this 
Kauncelot here should meet me!” Then, before any one could 
stop him he had jumped on his prancing horse and was off to 
the field, catching at a twig of thorn tree and fastening it in 
his helmet as he galloped along. Now everybody began to 
laugh at the comical token he had chosen. (A token, you 
know, was a bit of silk, or a scarf, which a knight’s lady- 
love always gave him to wear in his helmet.) They simply 
could not help laughing at a knight who seemed to say that he 


62 


DINADAN. 


preferred a thorn tree twig to any token given him by the 
most beautiful queen England has ever had! 

Guenevere was going into a rage at such impudence, but 
Launcelot quieted her with a look. Then he called up a tall 
knight in black armor and told him to draw down the visor to 
his helmet, and sit at the Queen’s feet, so that when Dinadan 
looked towards the throne, he would think he saw Launcelot 
sitting there. Then Launcelot himself, slipping off to a castle 
not far away, begged a suit of woman’s clothes, veil and all. 
He put the garments on over his armor and fastened the veil 
over his helmet, and then rode slowly towards the field, asking 
a knight to lead him into the range. 

How all the knights stared to see this extraordinarily tall 
woman. They fairly stopped fighting to ask each other who in 
the world she could possibly be. Sir Dinadan stared so hard 
that he forgot to hold up his shield. Then he drew his vizor 
up to see her better and was just going to say something 
funny about her when, the first he knew, he was flying back- 
wards out of his saddle. The “lady” had seized a spear and 
had ridden at him so fiercely that he fell plumb off his horse 
and rolled over and over in sheer surprise. By the time he 
finally got on his feet, he saw through the joke, because, only 
one person in the world could give him such a blow and he 
shouted out, “O! Launcelot, thou old shrew, I never can be- 
ware of thee!” 

Then everybody shouted and laughed and stopped fighting 
for the day. They crowded round and carried him off into a 
forest near by, took off his armor and put the woman’s clothes 
on him. Then they placed him sidewise on his horse and par- 
aded up and down the field with him until dinner time. King 
Arthur laughed till he held his poor aching sides and Guenevere 
forgot her wrath in tears of laughter. 

You might think they would have let him off then, but 
they did not. After he had dressed himself in the long, red, 
velvet gown he always wore to dinner, the King called him 
once more to sit beside the Queen. It was Guenevere’s turn 
then and she and her ladies made all manner of fun of him be- 
cause he had been thrown by a lack-lorn maid. 

Dinadan did not mind it, however, because he was used to 


DINADAN. 


63 


being joked. Most of his life he was either playing a joke on 
the Round Table or it was playing one on him, and conse- 
quently he had become the most popular man in the kingdom. 
He could say the maddest things in the world and no one ever 
thought of taking offence at him. Everbody liked him be- 
cause he was so true Underneath all his fun. 

No knight ever left the court to ride upon adventures with- 
out asking Dinadan to go along too, for he was a great fighter 
and a jolly companion as well; and every lady who was going 
a hunting always besought and teased him to join her caval- 
cade, because a merry day was sure to follow, whether game 
did or not; and in addition to these, the King and Queen were 
forever bidding him remain with them, because they needed 
his cheerful bantering to keep the court good-natured. 

However, as he was not a home missionary by nature, he 
did not choose to stay at home or go hunting either. The one 
thing he loved was to fight in real battles for a real cause, and 
fight he must. He could not content himself with flimsy 
tournaments where men fought for a mere prize. 

One day, news came to the Round Table of the misfortunes 
of the noble Tristram, far away in Cornwall, where he was 
thrown into a dungeon and scourged by the wicked King Mark. 
Dinadan’s heart beat the faster as he heard the tale and he went 
quickly to the throne and knelt at Arthur’s feet, begging to be 
allowed to ride to the rescue of Tristram and to kill the evil 
king. The knights all clamored to let them go too! The 
ladies pressed their tokens upon him, — one would give him a 
golden bridle— another would get him shining new spurs, if he 
would only wait a few days, only a little while. No, not 
an hour — not a minute was to be lost, he said, and before 
their pleadings had died away in the echoing court-yard, he 
was galloping off toward Cornwall. He rode day after day. 
He searched everywhere. Finally, to his great joy, he found 
Tristram, but not until the poor knight was nearly dead for 
want of light and air. He had no fear of King Mark and he 
took Tristram away out of that loathsome place to a little her- 
mitage and nursed him back to health again. 

Oh! how angry King Mark was! He vowed to kill Dinadan 
at once, but he could not seem to do it. Then he tried to bribe 


64 


DINADAN. 


him to be his champion instead of Tristram’s, and he got only 
scorn for his pains. So he gave up having anything to do with 
Dinadan and drew his net more closely about Tristram. Din- 
adan watched his hero by day and guarded him by night, but 
he was no match for Mark, and so, in spite of all his care, his 
loved Tristram died by the King’s hand. 

Dinadan’s grief was so great, at first, that he lost all his cour- 
age and declared there was nothing more to live for. He had 
never known a man, so brave, so tender, so unselfish, so un- 
fortunate, as this Tristram had been, and he knew well he 
should never make another such a friend. He buried Tristram 
in the minster and raised a great iron cross over him; he tried 
to comfort poor La Belle Isoud, who lay down beside that cross 
to die, and the thought came to him, “There is yet one more 
thing for me to do before I lie beside him, and that is, to 
avenge him.” 

So he rode swiftly back to the kingdom of Logris, told the 
sorrowful story of Tristram in words that burned into the 
knights’ hearts, till they rose as one man, and rode with him to 
avenge his friend; many of them to their own death — and 
one of the many was Dinadan. 




LAUNCELOT. 


Once Merlin went over the sea into the country of King 
Ban of Benwick. There he saw King Ban's wife, Elaine, a most 
beautiful lady who spent her whole time looking after the poor. 
At that time King Ban was at war with a neighboring king and 
she was grieving over the terrible years of bloodshed. Merlin 
comforted her, saying that in twenty years her little son, 
Launcelot, would stop all these wars and would become the 
greatest man in the world. 

Launcelot might well become great, for he had noble 
fathers before him. For nine generations back they were 
kings and his tenth great grandfather had been Joseph of 
Arimathea. “And that made him the greatest gentleman liv- 
ing,’' said Queen Guinevere, while King Arthur added, “And a 
most perfect knight.’' 

When he was eighteen he was attracted to Arthur’s court 
by the fame of the Round Table. His mother, who could not 
bear to part with him, wept bitterly and begged him to stay at 
home and be King of Benwick. “Nay, sweet mother,” said he, 
“I am come of king’s blood and I must, by nature, haunt arms 
and noble deeds of war.” So he hurried away over the sea to 
England and soon found his way to King Arthur. 

In all the Round Table there was not one as tall and strong 
as he, and the King rejoiced at his coming. First he had to be 
one of the Queen’s knights; that is, he joined a number of young 
men who had never been in real battle and who had not yet 
learned all the lessons of knighthood. They wore plain armor 
and carried pure, white shields, and all they had to do was to 


68 


LAUNCELOT. 


guard the Queen. In this way they served a year. Then if 
there were a vacancy at the Roi^nd Table, the bravest and most 
courteous of these young knights was chosen to fill it. 

Launcelot’s bravery and patience brought him to the Round 
Table his first year. The day he was made knight was the 
most exciting time of his life, as you can imagine. He became 
very embarrassed before all the older knights and, in his con- 
fusion, lost his sword. What to do he did not know, and he 
heartily wished himself back in Benwick. He seized a spear 
and had just started out to fight with the other knights in the 
tournament when Queen Guinevere called him. She had found 
his sword and had wrapped it in her train till he should need it. 
Now he was happy, too happy to say “Thank you,” as he 
should have done, but he became her devoted knight from that 
time on and we shall see how he rewarded her. 

Day by day Launcelot’s strength became greater until his 
deeds of arms in jousting and war were wonderful. Before his 
second year was over he had overcome every knight of the 
Round Table so many times that every one acknowledged him 
to be the best knight of them all. So no one would fight him 
any more. Therefore he grew into the habit of staying out of 
the tournaments until the last day and then fighting the winner, 
or else of going in the first day, disguised. He had not been 
in England very long before Arthur made war on the Pope of 
Rome. He made Launcelot a general over one-third of all the 
troops and gave him charge over all the prisoners. This 
young general was more dreaded than Arthur himself,. and the 
old story says that the Romans fled from him as sheep from 
a lion or a wolf. He loved war better than anything else and 
would have preferred to stay fighting at Rome had there been 
anything left to conquer. There was not, so he reluctantly 
turned toward home. 

After Launcelot had rested at the court, he grew weary of 
hunting and of fighting in mock battles. So he took his neph- 
ew, Sir Lionel, and rode off to seek adventures in the forest. 

One noon Launcelot became very sleepy and, while he was 
resting, Sir Lionel stole off on an adventure of his own. That 
was very unwise, for he had hardly ridden out of the forest 
when he was seized by a terrible knight, named Sir Turquine, 


LAUNCELOT. 


69 


and thrown into a deep prison. Here he found forty other 
knights of the Round Table, each of whom had suffered the 
same misfortune. They were waiting patiently for Launcelot, 
because he was the only knight in the world stronger than Sir 
Turquine. 

However, they had to wait many a long day because un- 
pleasant things were happening to Sir Launcelot also. 

As he lay sleeping that noon, when Lionel left him, four 
queens rode by on four white mules, and with them four 
knights who held up on their spears a great silken canopy 
to keep the sun’s heat off the queens. Among the latter was 
wicked Morgan Le Fay, who recognized Launcelot. She cast 
an enchantment on him to sleep soundly for six hours, while 
they took him to her strong castle “Chariot.” That evening 
they sent a lovely maiden into the prison with his supper, who 
told him where he was and that he would be killed the next day 
unless he marry one of the four queens. When they came 
down into the dungeon and demanded to know which one he 
would marry, he refused them all, for they were wicked 
sorceresses. “Verily, it is thy death,” said they. 

They had hardly left him, moaning over his imprisonment, 
when the little maiden came again and told him that she would 
free him on one condition. This condition was to help her father, 
King Bagdemagus, at a jousting, so that he might win the prize. 
This the prisoner gladly promised. The next morning when 
the first light appeared, the little maiden came in once more and 
unlocked the chains from his hands and feet and from about 
his neck and body. Then she helped him buckle on his armor 
and saddle his horse, let the drawbridge down and hurried 
him off. He rode swiftly to her father’s castle and presently 
helped win the coveted prize, just as he promised to do. 

Now that he was once free again, he set out to find Lionel, 
for he feared some harm had overtaken him. In the forest he 
met a lady riding on a white horse and he asked her if there 
were any adventures there. “Yes.” she answered, “if you dare 
undertake them.” You see she did not know him, or she never 
would have said a thing like that, for he grew angry and 
said, “Of course I dare; for that purpose came I out.” Then she 
told him of the terrible Sir Turquine, who now held sixty-four 


7 ° 


LAUNCELOT. 


of Arthur’s knights in prison. Launcelot anxiously begged 
her to show him Turquine’s castle, for he doubted not that he 
should find Lionel there. 

She led the way to a ford in the river. Near this was a tree 
on which hung many shields of famous knights, among them 
Lionel’s. At the foot of this tree was a copper basin. The 
lady told him to strike on this three times and Sir Turquine 
would soon make himself known. Launcelot beat on the basin 
with the butt of his spear so hard that the bottom fell out, and 
then waited: At last he saw coming toward him a knight, all 
in black armor, bringing a wounded prisoner bound on his 
horse. Launcelot recognized the wounded knight as his friend, 
Sir Gareth, and ran out, boldly demanding his freedom. Of 
course the Black Knight (Sir Turquine) would not hear of 
letting Gareth go, so they fought a long time over him. At 
last Turquine grew faint and held his shield low. Launcelot 
took advantage of this and, leaping suddenly upon him, 
grasped him by the helmet and cut off his head. 

He hurried to set Gareth free, telling him to go to Sir Tur- 
quine’s castle and free the prisoners. You see, he loved to 
fight for people, but he could not bear to have them praise him 
or thank him in the way that these poor imprisoned fellows 
were sure to do. Gareth rode to the castle and hunted about 
for the keys of the prison. It took some time to do this and the 
next thing was to look about for the secret staircase which led 
down to those damp, dark cells under the ground. When he 
had finally unlocked the last iron door and had helped the last 
tottering man up to the light and air once more, they tried to 
gather round him and tell him how thankful they were; but 
they could only weep. Gareth explained to them that Laun- 
celot had really freed them and pictured out the long battle by 
the tree where their shields were hanging. When they were 
well enough, he gave them Launcelot’s orders, which were that 
each knight should look about the castle and find his own horse 
and armor; then he should ride back to Arthur’s court and stay 
there until Launcelot should return. 

By the time all this was over, Launcelot himself had en- 
countered ever so many exciting things. He had beaten 
another dangerous knight just fighting with his sword, and 


LAUNCELOT. 


7 


after that he had succeeded in lopping off the heads of two 
giants, who ran at him with clubs and were determined to take 
his horse away from him. 

An ordinary knight would have thought this a good day’s 
work and would have galloped to some way-side chapel and 
taken off his armor, content to rest awhile. 

Perhaps Launcelot was thinking of that very same thing, 
when he happened to come upon Sir Kay, an old acquaintance 
of his. Kay was in a bad plight, for three knights were running 
at him, with their long spears pointed full at his shield. 
Launcelot rode up just in time and together they sent first one 
and then another coward knight flying backward out of his 
saddle. After this Kay and Launcelot were left alone and at 
sundown they came to a little cottage, where they asked leave 
to spend the night. 

The old story says that Launcelot found the house too small 
and warm to rest in, and so he rose up early in the morning 
while Kay was still asleep. A sudden thought came to 
Launcelot to wear Kay’s armor and leave his own there, for he 
knew that more men would fight with him if they thought he 
was Sir Kay, than if they knew him to be the great Launce- 
lot who had conquered all the Round Table. So he put on 
Kay’s armor, slipped out of the house, found his horse and was 
off. When Kay awoke he understood this joke at once and 
laughed to think how Launcelot’s armor would keep him safe all 
the way home. But Kay’s armor did not keep Launcelot safe. 
It just brought him all the fighting he wanted. 

As he rode along, knight after knight thinking he was Sir 
Kay, ran upon him and found to their sorrow that they were 
mistaken. He sent them back to Arthur’s court, one by 
one, telling them to say that they were Kay’s prisoners and 
that they were to become Queen Guinevere’s servants. Among 
these were eight knights of the Round Table who would not 
have attacked him had they known who he really was. No 
doubt they thought it no fun to fight a man who would surely 
beat them. 

Besides these adventures, people were continually asking 
him to do favors for them, and some of these “favors” were 
very strange and dangerous. Once he was asked a double 


72 


LAUNCELOT. 


favor, which was to find the murderer of a wounded knight, 
and then after he had put the murderer safely out of the way, 
he was asked to heal the knight. 

In order to do this he must enter the Chapel Perilous, 
where he would find a sword and a silken shroud which would 
cure the wounded man. He found his way to the chapel and 
tied his horse to the little gate. Here, in front, he found many 
shields turned upside down, and he wondered what that meant. 
Beyond the shields stood thirty knights, each of them three 
feet taller than any one Launcelot had ever seen. They grin- 
ned and gnashed their teeth at him and the black plumes on 
their helmets waved ' horridly. Launcelot’s heart beat faster 
than he liked and there was a strange feeling in his knees, but 
he put up his shield and went at them. To his great surprise 
and fear they scattered on every side and then flitted about him, 
making passes with their weird spears and groaning in an un- 
earthly way. Then he entered the chapel, where a dim light 
was burning beside a corpse covered with a silken shroud. 
He stooped down and cut away a piece of the shroud and took 
a sword which lay there. The floor quaked beneath him. 
He leaped out of the chapel into the light again and was just 
about to give thanks for his deliverance when he saw those 
ghostly knights all lined up against him, urging their uncanny 
horses straight upon him. Their hollow voices entered his 
very marrow. He thought of his sins and felt his strength 
dissolving in fear. His little hound began to whine and howl 
as though it would lay down and die right then and there. The 
thirty swooped down upon him; his horse reared and plunged, 
but they thundered past him and vanished in the chapel. 
“Good Lord!” was all the prayer our quaking hero found time 
to utter, and he made off with the sword and shroud. 

As he thought this over, he congratulated himself on com- 
ing out of it so well, and said to himself that he preferred an 
adventure with ghosts to one with false ladies, for somehow a 
knight always got into trouble with ladies. He knew whereof 
he spoke. 

Once, as he rode through marshes and valleys, he came by 
a castle where he thought he heard two little bells ring. Then 
he saw a falcon flying over his head to a tall elm. As the long 


LAUNCELOT. 


73 


lines about its feet caught in the boughs, it hung fast and 
Launcelot felt sorry for it. Presently a lady came out of the 
castle and cried, “Launcelot, Launcelot, flower of all knight- 
hood, help me to get my hawk.” “Well, fair lady, since ye re- 
quire me of knighthood to help you, I will do what I may to 
get your hawk, though the tree is high and has few boughs to 
help me. V Launcelot dismounted and tied his horse and begged 
the lady to unarm him. Then he climbed up to the hawk and 
tied the lines to a rotten branch and threw it down*. When 
the lady held her falcon once more in her hand, her husband, 
whQ had lain in wait for Launcelot, came under the tree and 
waving his sword shouted, “Knight, thine hour is come!” 
“Alas, that ever knight should die weaponless!” groaned 
Launcelot desperately, for he dreaded an ignoble death. Then 
he came down to a lower branch to see where his horse stood, 
jumped on the further side of it, away from the waiting knight, 
and escaped. 

Now, on account of the number of prisoners he had sent 
back to the Queen, they had given him the name of “The 
“Greatest Knight in the World.” So there was much wonder 
and curiosity when this greatest knight appeared one morning 
at the court, travel-stained and foot-sore. “Now where is my 
good armor,” asked Sir Kay. “What art thou doing, limping 
hither like a churl,” demanded the proud Queen. “Well, what 
in Heaven’s name hath befallen you, my son,” said King 
Arthur, as the rest crowded round laughing and nudging each 
other. When Launcelot had taken his place at the Round 
Table he told the long story of his year of fighting, but it was 
some time before he mentioned his adventure with the hawk. 

He was glad to stay and rest awhile at the court, for hunt- 
ing and jousting were a great improvement upon adventures 
with ghosts and ladies’ falcons. He gave out to all the Round 
Table that he meant to stay there with them until he was 
called away to fight for some worthy cause. “Ah, that will not 
belong!” sighed Arthur, “because every day some one cometh to 
the Round Table begging a good knight’s help.” And true it 
was, for the very next day Launcelot was called away to the 
North land. First he had to rescue a lady from a boiling 
spring, where Morgan Le Fay had thrown her. Next he was 


74 


LAUNCELOT. 


wanted to kill a dragon which was destroying all the people on 
the shore. 

Then he cleared the whole highway of robbers, and for his. 
reward he saw the dove bring in the Holy .Graal at Carboneck, 
as you read in the story of the Graal. He stayed here until 
his son, Galahad, was born and would have continued to stay 
with the little son and his mother Elaine had he not suddenly 
realized that he had been gone from the Round Table three 
years, and so he turned homeward once more, hoping for a 
long rest. 

But that was not to -be. Queen Guinevere had grown very 
jealous and angry at him because of Galahad’s mother, the 
good Elaine, and as soon as the Queen set eyes on him she 
called him a traitor and forbade him to enter the court. Now 
he had always loved Guinevere more than any one or anything 
else, and to have her treat him so harshly was too much for 
him. “Alas!” he cried, and fell down in a dead faint. Worse 
than that, for when he awoke from his swoon he was raving 
crazy. He jumped out of his high window into a garden and was 
frightfully bruised and scratched. Then he ran away to the woods 
as mad as a March hare and wandered about for two desolate 
years. When the Queen saw what she had done, she repented 
and sent out three great knights, Sir Bors, Sir Lionel and Sir 
Ector, to find him. They rode for a quarter of a year endlong 
overthwart into forests and wildernesses, yet they could find 
no trace of him. Then they sent back word to the Round 
Table for help and twenty-three more famous knights were 
armed and equipped to hunt through the world for him. 

Meanwhile Launcelot was suffering hunger and thirst and 
cold, running madly from place to place, in rain and drought, 
never having the comfort of even straw to sleep on. Many a 
knight tried to help him but they dared not do much as he 
was so wild. His hair grew long and shaggy and his looks be- 
came so changed that no one knew him. By chance his wan- 
derings led him again to Carboneck, King Pelles’ castle, where 
Elaine and Galahad lived. Here he had a little hut to lie in 
and the knights would throw out food to him every day, as 
they dared not touch him or come near him. After a year or 
so King Pelles gave a great feast and as Launcelot by this time 


EAUNCELOT. 


75 


had grown mild enough to be among people without harm, 
they dressed him in a red gown, cut his hair and had his face 
cleanly shaven to make him presentable. Now he looked like 
himself and of course Galahad’s mother recognized him. She 
set about at once to have him cured of this terrible madness. 
When he had gone to sleep after the feast she and her maid 
•and her father with four trusty knights carried him to the 
tower where the Sancgreal was kept. Here he was healed as 
you have read. 

The first thing he recalled was that he had been banished 
from Guinevere’s court and he asked for shelter here and so 
King Pelles gave him the great castle, ‘‘Joyous Isle,” where 
Elaine and forty knights and ladies lived with him. First, 
that no one might know him, he changed his name to “Le 
Chevalier Mai Fet,” or “The Knight who has Trespassed.” 
Then he had made a shield all black, with a queen all of silver 
•on it, and a knight, freshly armed, kneeling before her. Once 
every day, no matter what they did to amuse him, he would 
take his shield and walk on the high wall around the castle and 
look towards the country of Logris, where King Arthur and 
Queen Guinevere were, and would weep as though his heart 
would break. 

After some time had passed, there was a great tournament 
held near Joyous Isle, to which Sir Percival and Sir Ector 
came. On their way they heard of this Chevalier Mai Fet, and 
Percival went to the castle to joust with him; and here to his 
great joy he found Launcelot, perfectly sane, once more. 

Now their long search was over and they hurried him back 
to the court, where all the Round Table rejoiced to see him 
again. Guinevere was ashamed of her jealousy and begged his 
forgiveness, which he was generous enough to grant without 
one word of complaint. 

Here he hoped for another season of happy rest but he was 
once more disappointed. The years of his sorrow and toil were 
but just beginning, for the time was at hand when the Round 
Table began the “Quest of the Sancgreal.” His trials in this 
seemed more than he could bear and he found the way to the 
Graal a path very different from the plain one in which his 
former life had been. Then he could see what his duty was 


76 


LAUNCELOT. 


and he had always done it by his own strength and firm will; 
now he entered a quest where he could not see plainly what he 
ought to do, and where his faith in God only could help him. 

His great fame had made him over-confident, so he had first 
to become humble, for no one except an humble man could hope 
to see the Graal. Therefore, his first defeat came on the 
second day of t the quest, when he was overthrown by his own 
son, Galahad. This shamed him so greatly (for he had never 
before lost a single battle) that he rode alone, deep into the 
forest. At last he came to a stone cross near a little chapel, 
whither he went, hoping to find comfort. He tied his horse 
and hung up his shield and hastened to the chapel. The door 
was all battered and broken and within he could see a rich al- 
tar with six great candles in a candle-stick of silver. He tried 
to enter, but could find no way and was greatly troubled. 
Worn out and perplexed he lay down upon his shield before the 
cross and slept. Now he dreamed that two white horses 
brought a wounded knight in a litter up to the cross and he 
heard this knight pray for the Graal. Then he saw the candle- 
stick come before the cross and with it also the Cup of the 
Graal, but he could not see who bore it. And the knight was 
made whole. Straightway the candle-stick was removed to 
the altar, but Launcelot could not follow it, as hard as he tried. 
He was so deep in sin that he could not rise up in the presence 
of the Graal. Then the knight, just healed, calmly put on 
LaunceloCs armor and took away his horse. This roused 
the sleeper and he awakened, wondering if it were not all a 
dream, when suddenly a voice said, “Thou Launcelot, more 
harder than is the stone, more bitter than is the wood, more 
naked and barer than is the fig tree art thou, therefore go 
thou hence.” 

This told Launcelot that God was displeased with him because 
he had started out on this quest with a sin of which he had not 
repented and for which he could not repent, for he could not 
give it up. So he mourned and felt great remorse and went 
on foot humbly. However, the day after that he met the 
knight who had taken his armor. It did not take him many 
minutes to win it back again in a good old fashioned fig'ht, and 
then he went on his way comforted. 


LAUNCELOT. 


77 


He passed a deep, black river and soon after lost his 
horse again and was once more compelled to walk many a long 
day over stony paths and rough roads. For all this he was 
compensated by another vision. At this time a voice said, 
“Launcelot, arise! Take up thine armor and enter the first 
ship thou shalt find.” He started at once and soon came to a 
boat which had neither sail nor oar and in which lay Sir Per- 
cival’s sister. Here he stayed a month or more and God fed 
him with manna. 

One night he sat at the edge of the boat and was lapping 
his hand in the water, when he heard some one riding toward 
him. This proved to be Galahad. How they rejoiced to see 
each other! Galahad at once showed his father the “Sword of 
Strange Girdles” and told him the long story of his adventures 
on the quest. 

After a half year together on the boat Galahad was called 
away by the White Knight, and when Launcelot was left alone 
again he prayed continually for a sign of the Graal. 

One night he came to a castle where there was a postern 
gate open toward the sea and two lions guarding it. A heaven- 
ly voice seemed to say, “Launcelot, enter thou this castle, 
where thou shalt see a great part of what thou hast desired to 
behold.” He obeyed and, seeing the lions, he drew his sword, 
but was astonished to have it dashed out of his hand by a 
strange dwarf who said, “Trust not in thine earthly strength 
here.” However, he passed into the castle unharmed. Going 
through one room after another he came to a chamber door 
which was closed, and this he tried in vain to open. He listen- 
ed and heard a voice which sang so sweetly it seemed no earth- 
ly music, singing, “Joy and honor to the Father in Heaven!” 
Launcelot knelt before the door, for he knew that the Holy 
Graal must be in that room. Now he wept and prayed pas- 
sionately to see it. With that, “the door opened and a light 
shone out from it as though all the candles of the world had 
been there.” He would have stepped within, but a voice 
said, “Enter not.” He was sorrowful indeed. As he looked 
up he saw a table of silver and the Holy Vessel covered with 
red velvet and angels about it. This sight was so beautiful 
that Launcelot quite forgot his warning and entered, when a 


7 « 


LAUNCELOT. 


breath of fire straightway smote him to the earth. Then he 
felt many hands about him, which carried him out of the 
chamber door and left him as though dead, at the entrance. 

Here King Pelles found him and tenderly cared for him 
through many a weary day. 

Finally when he was strong enough (this happened to be a 
year from the day he had set out), he started to return from the 
quest. 

Three days of hard riding brought him to Camelot, back to 
his waiting friends. How they rejoiced and crowded round to 
hear of his adventures! 

He had come back to them the same old Launcelot, they 
thought, and now the good old days would surely return. They 
did not, however. Only one-half the Round Table were back 
from the quest and, as they had suffered a humiliating defeat, 
their spirits were not as confident as before. Their rivalries 
had become more bitter and the high excellence of knight- 
hood seemed to be falling. 

Yet Launcelot’s fame remained as great as ever. Every 
day mothers and maidens came to the court and begged his 
help in their distresses. This he gladly gave, for his heart was 
always tender toward the sorrowful and his shield ready to 
protect the weak. 

This generous nature of his Guinevere could not understand, 
even after knowing him these twenty-five years, and she now 
allowed herself to again grow foolishly jealous. In a fit of rage 
she commanded him to leave the court as before. This time 
he did not become insane but went sadly to an hermitage and 
no one heard a word of him until Guinevere suddenly stood in 
great danger. Then with his usual loyalty, he came back just 
in time to save her from being burned at the stake. 

She drove him away twice even after that and yet he never 
lost his patience or failed to help her in time of need. 

There is one little incident which happened at this time 
which was a bright spot in the midst of his unhappiness. 

A lady one day rode to the court with a wounded knight 
who could be healed by a knight of the Round Table only. 
Now the question arose, who that knight was; and all the 
Round Table gathered excitedly to try their skill. Arthur had 


LAUNCELOT. 


79 


the sick man taken down out of the litter and laid on a golden 
cushion. First the King himself searched his wounds and tried 
all kinds of salves. Then one by one the hundred and ten of 
the Round Table tried with tincture, bandage and knife. 
Launcelot, who had been hunting, returned in time to find a 
discouraged crowd of physicians and a dying man. The king 
explained the matter to him and bade him try. “Heaven de- 
fend me when so many better knights have failed/’ said he, 
humbly. But Arthur answered, “I command you to try, for 
you are the last knight, in the kingdom to do it/* Then 
Launcelot knelt down meekly and prayed to God to heal this 
suffering man and ease him of his pain. After that he 
searched his wounds and they began to bleed and then to heal, 
and within an hour this dying man leaped up and cried, “I never 
felt so lusty!” “And all the Round Table thanked God for 
this healing, but Launcelot wept all the time as a child who 
had been beaten.” 

Of course as great a man as Launcelot had enemies, for, they 
say, it is a poor tree at which no stones are thrown. The 
malice of these enemies first caused his downfall, then a dread- 
ful civil war, and finally Arthur’s death. 

Launcelot had been driven to France during this civil war, 
but when he heard of Mordred’s rebellion he hurried back to 
England to see if he could not be reconciled once again with 
Arthur and help him. However, he was too late. 

He found that Arthur was dead and that Guinevere had 
taken refuge in a nunnery, never to leave it. 

Now he knew that the golden days of chivalry were forever 
past and he had no heart to go back to France, though he 
should be king there. So he chose the duties of a monastery 
and became a lowly monk. 

Sir Bors and Sir Bedivere happened to find him there and 
they soon followed his example. Not long after four other 
wounded knights wandered thither and these seven once fam- 
ous men of the Round Table lived a quiet life of holy deeds. 

Soon they were called to bury Guinevere beside her lord, 
the King, and Launcelot tremblingly sung the requiem. 

The next day they laid him away at “Joyous Garde,” the 
dark scar on his face, a mark of battling for her, having long 
since faded away. 


















. 

. 

































, 













- • 


. 










































QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAAL, 


At the time when Galahad and Percival joined the Round 
Table, the Holy Graal entered with them and at once all the 
knights vowed to go in quest of it. 

They had never really seen this sacred token but had heard 
of it from their fathers and from the priests since the days of 
their childhood. 

They believed it to be a large, six sided cup which had the 
wonderful power of bringing food to the one who saw it. This 
cup, cut out of a single emerald and always resting on a silver 
table, was a gift from the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, so 
people said, and had been kept very carefully till the time of 
Christ. When Joseph of Arimathea took it to the cross and 
saved in it the blood of our crucified Saviour, it gained the 
added power of healing all wounds. Now it was too sacred to 
be seen or touched by common hands, so Joseph was said to 
have built for it the sacred tower of Corbiency in England. 
There it was handed down from generation to generation till 
Arthur’s time. 

Since then, they say, it has come to be in the great cathe- 
dral of Genoa. Once Napoleon carried it off and when he was 
obliged to return it, the beautiful chalice was broken on the 
way. However, if you go to Genoa you will see it carefully 
wired together. Only remember, if you wish to get a glimpse 
at it, you must be like Arthur’s knights, pure, self-restrained 
and faithful. 

Of course, when Sir Thomas Malory wrote this story nearly 


8 4 


THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAAL. 


four hundred years ago he thought that everyone knew what 
the Holy Graal was, and so, instead of explaining it, he gave 
only a few hints about it before telling the story of its quest. 

Therefore, the first we hear of the Sancgreal, or the Holy 
Graal, is that a good knight, “Sir Bagdemagus,’’ was riding 
through the forest and found a tiny herb (perhaps like that 
beautiful Alpine flower of pure, pure white which blooms only 
once in a hundred Christmases). “This herb,” says the story, 
“was holy, and was a sign of the Sancgreal, and no knight ever 
found this token but that he was a good liver.” 

The next we hear of the Graal is in the life of Sir Pelleas 
the Good but we do not find out what it really is until we read 
the lives of Launcelot, Bors, Galahad and Percival, — for these 
achieved it. 

Once Launcelot was at the Adventurous Castle belonging 
to King Pelles. When they sat down to eat a dove flew in at 
the window, holding in her bill a little, golden censer, which 
seemed to hold all the spices in the world, its fragrance was so 
sweet. Just then the table was filled with every good thing to 
eat that one could wish for or think of. A maiden came in, 
holding in both hands a golden cup. King Pelles and all his 
barons hastened to kneel and pray. Then Launcelot asked 
what all this meant. “This,” said the King, “is the richest 
thing that hath any man living — the Holy Sancgreal — when this 
goeth about, the Round Table shall be broken.” Then the 
dove flew away and the maiden vanished. And as much as 
Launcelot wished to see it, he saw or heard no more until 
years later, when he was healed from madness by lying before 
it on the altar. 

Once also Sir Percival and Sir Ector had a glimpse of it 
when they fought upon the battle field, as it passed by and 
healed them of their wounds. Because Percival had a glim- 
mering of this, he believed that at the proper time God would 
let him achieve its quest. So he made it his first great adven- 
ture for the glory of the Round Table. 

With him there started out the one hundred and forty-nine 
other knights and they all rode together for a day and a night. 
Then they scattered far and wide for it seemed that each must 
go on the quest separately and endure its dangers alone. Now 


THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAAL. 


85 


the Graal was said to be in the realm of Logris, and as no one 
seemed to know just where, each prayed for guidance and hoped 
by wandering about and righting the wrongs which came to his 
notice, that he would at last happen upon it. 

Thus the great quest was commenced. In order to know 
its whole history, we must go back a little and find out about 
Galahad and Percival, whose lives tell its story. 

Galahad was son to the great Launcelot but, as he was 
more pure than his father, he became far greater. In fact 
everyone ackowledged that he was the best knight of all the 
world. 

He spent the first fourteen years of his life with the nuns 
in an abbey, learning all the things a true knight must know. 

One fast-day, preceding Pentecost, a nun came to King 
Arthur and asked that Launcelot come to a nunnery to make a 
youth there a knight. Thither he went and at the castle gate 
he was met by twelve nuns accompanying Galahad, “who was 
passing fair and so well made. that in all the world there was 
not his match.” “Sir,” said they, “we bring you here a child 
which we have nourished; for of a more worthier man’s hand 
he may not receive the order of knighthood.” Launcelot sent 
him away to spend that night alone in the cathedral, praying 
that he might become a worthy knight, and the next day as he 
and Sir Bors each buckled on Galahad’s spurs, Launcelot gave 
him the order and said, “God make him a good man, for 
beauty faileth him not as any that liveth.” 

Then Launcelot went back to the Round Table and, after 
service in the minster, a new name was found written in letters 
of gold upon the sieges about the Great Table. This time it 
was in the “Siege Perilous,” wherein no man had ever sat or 
ever would, unless he were the Best Knight in All the World. 
Now to-day new, burning letters were found there saying 
“Four hundred winters and fifty after the passion of our Lord 
ought this siege to be fulfilled.” They could not understand 
this and so covered the “Siege Perilous’* with a silken cloth 
until the right person should appear to explain the unknown 
writing. 

Just then a squire came running into the hall, telling of a 
great boulder with a sword sticking out of it, which was floating 


86 


THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAAL. 


down the river right toward Camelot. They all hurried out and 
saw a great block of red granite, in which was fastened a long 
sword. Its handle was of gold and jewels and on it was 
written in burning letters, “Never shall man take me hence, 
but only he by whose side I ought to hang, and he shall be the 
Best Knight in All the World.” Launcelot understood that 
this was connected with the knight who should begin the 
quest of the Graal and he said as much, but no one seemed to 
really understand just what he meant. So after a great deal of 
talking and wondering about it they all went back to dine at 
the Table Round, where every knight knew his place by the 
Golden Writing. To-day they all kept very quiet for they 
seemed to feel that something unusual was to occur. 

When all the sieges were filled except the Siege Perilous a 
wonderful thing happened. All the doors and windows of 
the high hall shut themselves mysteriously and an ancient 
man, clothed all in white, came in. With him walked a young 
knight, armed all in red, without sword or shield, only with an 
empty scabbard hanging by his side. He saluted them all, 
saying, “Peace be with you, fair lords.” While the old man 
said to Arthur, “Sire, I bring you here a young knight, of 
king’s lineage, and through him shall miracles be done.” Then 
he bade the knight unarm himself and he put on him a red coat 
and a mantle of ermine, and he led him to the Siege Perilous 
just beside Sir Launcelot. When he lifted off the silken covering 
there appeared these flaming words: “This is the siege of 
Galahad, the Haut Prince.” 

There he placed Galahad with great dignity. 

When all the Round Table saw Galahad sit unharmed in 
the Siege Perilous they remembered the prophecy and knew 
the Best Knight in All the World had come at last 

This was a proud and happy hour for King Arthur for he 
knew now that the Round Table was complete and that he was 
king of the one hundred and fifty greatest men in the world. 

Now he ordered his heralds to call a tournament for the after- 
noon so that he could see how Galahad fought. You remem- 
ber that Galahad had no shield or spear and yet he was such a 
well trained jouster that he struck down with just his sword 


THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAAL. 87 

every knight of the Round Table except Launcelot and 
Percival. 

That night after vespers every one had gathered about the 
Table as usual. Suddenly all the doors and windows closed 
themselves. The castle hall shook with thunder and the 
torches died out in smoke. From the midst of all the noise 
and darkness shone forth a beam of light, the story says, 
“Seven times more clear than daylight, and they were all 
alighted by the Grace of the Holy Ghost.” Each looked at 
the other and each seemed fairer than ever before but every 
man was dumb. 

Then the Holy Graal entered the hall but no one could see 
it or the one who carried it. At the same time the hall was 
filled with sweet odors and every knight saw on the table the 
things he liked best in the world to eat. 

Like a mighty wind the Graal swe,pt through the hall and 
vanished as mysteriously as it entered. 

Now their tongues became loosened and each one made a 
sacred vow to seek it for a year and a day; for, by that time, 
perchance, the Good Lord would grant them a sight of what 
the Graal really was and of that Beautiful One who carried it. 

They little thought how many bad habits they must put 
away or how many trials they must endure in this vain search, 
but they started out with high hopes for a year of adventure 
and glory. 

The next morning the whole cavalcade rode away together 
as far as the castle Vagon, where they all separated, each 
knight taking the way he liked best. 

Galahad rode alone four days as yet without a shield. On 
the fifth day he came to a white abbey and in the chapel of 
this, behind the altar, hung a pure, white shield, from which 
shone a red cross. This, the monks said, could be carried only 
by the best knight in the world because through its miracles 
the whole world was to become Christianized; and this Galahad 
ventured to hang about his neck and so rode off eagerly on 
further adventures. 

Now he was led into continual fighting. He released pris- 
oners from giants, rescued ladies from false knights, killed all 
the robbers and murderers who infested the highways, min- 


88 


THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAAL. 


istered to the sick and dying, and, in all his duties, never for- 
got to be humble and contrite. 

His best friend was Percival de Galis. Percival’s life was 
harder than Galahad’s and yet he won less praise; why, we 
cannot tell. Perhaps because Galahad was called the Perfect 
Knight and was above temptation, while Percival was the 
Knight of Faith and Perfect Love and had many temptations. 

He was the son of King Pellinore and brother to the good 
Sir Lamorake and to Aglavale, Tor and Dornar, all tried 
knights of fame. 

One day Sir Aglavale brought a young squire to King 
Arthur and asked that he be dubbed knight. The next morn- 
ing the King did so, for the sake of King Pellinore; but, as he 
was not much pleased with Percival’s appearance, and as all 
the knights said it would be long ere he proved a good knight, 
Arthur commanded him t^o be placed down at that part of the 
table where the least famous knights sat. 

Percival, knowing much, was humble and, without a word, 
sat where he was commanded. Just then there entered the 
hall one of the Queen’s waiting maids who had always been 
dumb. She came straight to Percival, took him by the hand, 
and said aloud for the King and all his barons to hear, “Arise* 
Sir Percival, thou noble knight and God’s knight, and go with 
me.” And so he did. Then she brought him to the right 
side of the Siege Perilous and said, “Fair knight, here take thy 
siege for that siege is thine and none others.” 

Then she sent him away at once into a deep forest on 
the quest of the Graal. 

You remember it was said, that in order to achieve the 
Graal a knight must be pure, self-restrained and faithful to 
the right; all of which our Percival tried hard to be. Yet, in 
spite of that, the Foul-Fiend tried hard to catch him. First it 
took the shape of his horse and ran with him into a deep river. 
Then it became a beautiful woman with great riches. Next it 
was a priest offering him strong wine. Then a serpent, 
and finally another beautiful woman in sorrow. Percival had 
almost yielded, but he happened to see the little red cross in the 
handle of his sword. This reminded him of the quest, and he 
was so ashamed of his weakness that he thrust his sword deep 


'0i« “1 


THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAAL. 89 

into his side for punishment and prayed to be delivered from 
this great forest, where nothing but temptation met him. 

Just then he spied a ship, all covered with white silk 
wrought in gold, coming toward the strand, and this Percival 
thought best to enter. Not long after Sir Bors hailed it and 
entered also. And Percival said, “Now lack we nothing but 
Galahad, the Good Knight.” 

In the meantime Galahad had been fighting his way to the 
seaside. Here he was met by a nun who seemed to have 
supernatural power on account of her holiness and somehow 
she helped him reach the ship where Percival was. How glad 
the three knights were to see each other again after passing 
through so many dangers! But they were not safe yet, for as 
they were relating their adventures to each other, their ship all 
at once ran upon the rocks and they would have been drowned 
had it not been for Percival’s sister (for she it was who 
helped Sir Galahad). 

Just at the last minute she espied another ship, which they 
made great efforts to enter. In the stern of this boat was 
written, “Thou man, which shall enter here, be thou steadfast 
in belief, for I am Faith, and if thou fail, I shall not help thee/ 

This was a wonderful place indeed. 

On the deck was a bed and when Galahad went up to it, he 
saw at the head a crown of silk and at the foot a rich sword 
partly out of its sheath. The butt of this sword was of stone 
inlaid with every color. The hilt was formed by the bones of 
two beasts; the one, a serpent’s rib, caused the hand which 
held it never to be weary or hurt; the other, that of a fish, 
strengthened the will of the man who held it. 

Now each one wanted this sword very, very much. Perci- 
val tried to“grasp it, but failed. Sir Bors also failed. Galahad 
was afraid to try. 

Then they looked at the scabbard, which was a serpent’s 
skin covered with gold and silver letters, and on the butt was 
written, “He which shall win me, ought to be more harder 
than any other, if he bare me truly as I ought to be borne.” 
The other side of this sword was black and on it was written 
in red letters, “He that shall praise me most shall find me to 


9 o 


THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAAL. 


blame at great need/’ And of course they could not under- 
stand this any more than you or I. 

Over the bed hung two other swords, and beside them 
several spindles of white and green and red. Percival found 
some writing which explained that with these spindles a new 
girdle should be spun for each knight. So Percival’s sister 
spun from her own golden hair three new girdles and set them 
full of precious stones and clasped each with a golden buckle. 
When those were finished she told them that the name of the 
great sword was “The Sword of the Strange Girdles,” and that 
the sheath was “Mover of Blood/’ Then she girded Galahad 
with “The Sword of the Strange Girdles” and he found cour- 
age to draw it out of its sheath. 

Time passed very quickly with all these wonderful things to 
look at, and soon the ship brought them to a haven in Scotland 
where they were assailed by a whole city full of evil knights. 
These they overcame and killed almost to a man, with the 
help of the Sword of Strange Girdles. It fairly swung 
itself and Galahad rejoiced to use it. 

As they were about to go upon the ship again, they saw a 
wonderful thing. Four lions feeding a white deer passed before 
them and led on to a little chapel where a mass was being said 
and, during the service, they were surprised to see the deer 
change into a man and sit upon a seat, high upon the altar. 
Three of the lions also changed, one becoming a man, another 
an eagle, and the third, an ox. Suddenly they all vanished 
through a closed window and the hermit told our knights this 
was a sign that they were very near the Sancgreal. 

This gave them courage and they hurried on through 
dangers and trials and suffering, thinking only of what was 
soon to be granted them. 

However, they were obliged to stop some little time at a 
large castle, as PercivaPs sister died there on account of its evil 
customs. As she was a martyr, a mystery surrounded her ever 
after, which we cannot attempt to explain or understand, but 
her brother understood it and had a large, black barge made 
and covered with black velvet. In this he laid his sister and 
placed in her folded hands a letter telling of her holy life and 
strange journeyings. Then the barge with neither sail nor oar, 


THE QUEST OF THE HOLV GRAAL. 9 I 

sped forth upon the sea, far away toward the city of Sarras, 
where the three companions were to come in time to end the 
quest. 

Half a year passed and the three were again separated; 
Galahad spending some time on shipboard in company with his 
father, Launcelot; Percival and Bors, each riding alone. 

Soon after Galahad and Launcelot were parted, a knight, 
seeming more than mortal and all armed in white, brought a 
great, white horse to the waterside and called Galahad to come 
forth and ride alone upon the quest, saying, as he did so, that he 
should never see Launcelot any more. That was a sad part- 
ing, but Galahad kissed his father a loving farewell and 
bravely rode off alone into the dark night as he was bidden. 

The quest now became full of strange, new duties for him in 
healing the sick and wounded and in soothing the dying. He 
tried many dangerous ways in vain and prayed every day that 
the Good Lord would hasten the time of his achievement of the 
Graal, for he was worn with wandering and bruised from 
fighting. 

Finally he reached the end of his journey and turned 
toward the Castle of Carboneck, where, to his joy, he again 
met first Percival and then Bors, riding to the very same 
place. * 

This castle was owned by King Pelles, who had the Cup of 
the Graal in his strong tower, and who well knew their errand 
there. He and his servants would have given them a royal 
welcome, but our knights asked eagerly for the Graal and 
would wait for nothing else. 

So first King Pelles brought the pieces of an ancient sword 
to them, which Galahad alone was able to fit together. Just 
then there came so great a heat from this, that those nearest it 
fell dead, and a voice of thunder said: “They that ought not to 
sit at the table of Jesus Christ, arise, for now shall very 
knights be fed.” Then in silence all left the room except our 
three knights and nine great strangers who had come there 
from afar. There lay before the altar also, a wounded king 
who had long hoped to be healed by Galahad when the right 
time came for him to end the quest. 

The place became very dark and there entered four flaming 


9 2 


THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAAL. 


angels carrying a man, who seemed to be a bishop, and who 
bore a cross in his hands. They placed him before the silver 
table on which rested the cup of the Graal. Now there entered 
four more angels, two carrying waxen candles, the third a 
towel, and the fourth a spear, from which fell great drops of 
blood. They placed the towel on the Cup of the Graal and the 
bleeding spear on the towel. Then the bishop, ’sitting at the 
silver table, began the service of the Sacrament, and there- - 
upon happened the most wonderful of all the wonders they had 
yet seen. So wonderful, indeed, that we must let Sir Thomas 
tell his own story: “At the lifting up of the bread, there came a 
figure in the likeness of a child, and the visage was as bright as 
any fire; and it smote itself into the bread so that they all saw 
it. Then the bishop put it into the Cup of the Graal and said ? 
‘Now, ye servants of Jesus, ye shall be fed with such meat as 
never knights tasted.’ ” Then he vanished^. 

As they knelt before the table in great fear, they saw come 
out of the Cup of the Graal, a man bleeding all openly, who said, 
“My knights, my servants, and my true children, I will now no 
longer hide me from you.” And he offered first to Galahad 
the bread and wine, then to the others, and it seemed so sweet 
to them it is marvelous to tell. Then he said again, “Now thou 
hast seen what thou hast so long desired to see, but yet thou 
hast not seen it as openly as thou shalt in the city of Sarras, in 
the spiritual place. Therefore thou must go hence and bear 
this holy vessel with thee. Go ye tomorrow unto the sea-side, 
where ye shall find your ship ready; and take with you the 
Sword of Strange Girdles. Two of you shall die upon the 
quest, but one of you shall come again.” “Then he gave 
Galahad his blessing and vanished away.” 

But our three knights stayed there in prayer until midnight, 
when they departed to their ship. There they found the silver 
table and the Cup of the Sancgreal covered with white silk 
wrought in gold. They were glad to see it here before them, 
for it made them feel as if God were watching them on their 
unknown journey, and as if he were listening to their prayers. 

Galahad went alone by himself and prayed long and earn- 
estly, asking that he might die. At length a voice answered him, 
saying that his wish should be granted, and on that day he asked 


THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAAL. 


93 


for death he should find the life of the soul. This grieved 
Percival sadly, and he asked Galahad in the name of their 
great friendship, to tell him why he prayed to die. Galahad 
softly answered, as though rapt in a heavenly vision: “The 
other day when we saw a part of the adventures of the 
Sancgreal, I was happier than ever before, and now know I 
well what happiness shall be mine, when I behold such majesty 
all the time.” And the smile on his pure face was so serene, it 
was more than Percival could bear. 

An unseen power moved their little barque and it sped on 
swiftly and silently until it came to the unknown city of 
Sarras. 

When they were about to disembark they saw beside them 
the black ship in which lay Percival’s sister, all pure and fair 
on her black velvet bier, and they said: “Well has our sister 
kepten us covenant.” They made it their first duty to bury her 
with great pomp, such as a king’s daughter should receive. 

Next they returned to the Sancgreal and lifted it out of the 
boat, — Percival and Bors in front and Galahad behind. At the 
city gates Galahad called to an old cripple to come and help 
lift their heavy load. He answered: “How can I when I have 
been on crutches these ten years?” “Just have thou the will to 
help,” called back Galahad, and at once the cripple leapt up a 
well man and ran to him and helped him carry the table. 

All the city was aroused by this miracle and hurried to tell 
the King. When he learned who they were and what they 
had brought into the city, he cast them into a deep prison, for 
he was a Saracen. Here the Sancgreal came to them and fed 
them daily for a year, so that he could not harm them. 

At the end of this time the Saracen King died and the people 
freed our knights from their loathsome prison and chose 
Galahad to reign in his stead. 

The first thing Galahad did was to have made about the 
silver table and the Cup of the Graal a chest of gold studded 
with precious stones, so that common hands and eyes should 
never profane it. And he next caused a regular form of ser- 
vice to be sung before it, to remind all the people of the great 
sacrifice. And every day he and the other two knights went 
alone to worship before it. 


94 


THE QUEST OE THE HOLY GRAAL. 


After Galahad had been King for a year, he was before the 
Graal one morning at early dawn and saw a host- of angels 
about the golden chest. When he saw their heavenly 
mysteries, he felt them too great to understand and he lifted 
up his trembling hands and cried: “Lord, I thank thee that I 
now see what I have desired to see for so many days. Now, 
blessed Lord, I would no longer live, if it might please Thee, 
Lord/’ 

Thus he knelt before the altar, and the angels with tender 
joy carried him lovingly to heaven. 

Thus was achieved the Quest of the Sancgreal. 

Of the one hundred and fifty knights who sought it, four 
attained it, and one, Sir Bors, returned to the Round Table to 
tell of it. 























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